


Ocean Eyes

by Sapphire_Leon



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Drug Use, F/M, Human Castiel (Supernatural), M/M, Preacher's Kid Castiel (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2020-10-11 10:55:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20544992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphire_Leon/pseuds/Sapphire_Leon
Summary: The last thing Castiel expected when he moved to Lawrence was to make any friends, let alone a best friend. But from the very moment he met Dean, he knew that they would be close friends for life. It didn't help anything that he was slowly falling for him as well.





	1. Prologue

October 19th, 2009

The quiet winds blew through the old trees and the ringing of a broken promise hung gravely over Dean. 

“You know he never stopped loving you,” came a soft voice from behind him. “Honestly, he never shut up about you… especially towards the end.”

“Yeah, I know,” came his reply as he turned around to the sight of Anna. He had to admit for someone pushing sixty-five, she was looking pretty good. But now wasn’t the time for thoughts like that. Hell, it was never the time for that. At least time treated her nicer than it did him.

“Everyone else has already left, Dean. Would you like to go and grab some coffee?” She asked.

“No,” said Dean.

Sighing and stepping next to him, Anna rested her head on Dean’s shoulder. Though he wanted to move, to get away from her touch, Dean had to admit it was nice to feel someone there. It was nice. But he didn’t deserve kindness like this, much less from Cas’ own family. After everything they had been through. After everything that Dean had done. He deserved to be six feet under, not Cas, not his angel.

“Anna, I-”

“I know Dean,” she said, looking up at him with a soft smile. “All that matters is that you were there in the end. I know that made him feel a lot better before he, y’know…”

They stood there in front of the grave together, the reality of the whole situation still not setting in. The sun was bright, the sky was clear, and in the distance somewhere birds sang. None of this could be real. Could it? It seemed like some sick joke to have such a beautiful day when such sorrow hung over them. Out of all of the people in the world who had to go, why him? Castiel had done no one wrong. Whatever the reason was, Dean wished he could take his angel’s place. 

“I miss him,” Dean said.

“I know, Dean, I know. We all do,” said Anna.

“You know everything don’t you, smartass?” Dean chuckled, looking down at the elderly woman next to him.

“I don’t want to brag or anything but yeah, I do,” she replied, her eyes filled with that same fire she’d had since she was a toddler as she smirked at the older man next to her. “Though he never did tell me much about you. He liked to keep you his little secret.”

“Sounds like him,” Dean sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Do you mind telling me about you two? I’ve been dying to know since forever and Cas wouldn’t ever tell,” she asked in almost a begging tone.

“I do actually,” said Dean, “You’re still too young to hear about it.”

“Oh come on, just because you’re, like, eighty-five doesn’t mean you can treat me like a baby still,” Anna pouted. 

“I’m seventy-two!” Dean corrected.

“Whatever. You’re no fun, Dean,” said Anna, turning around on her heel and walking off. Her hand waving goodbye as she made her way towards the parking lot. “I have to open up the diner so don’t be a stranger.”

“Yeah yeah, see you later,” Dean said, rolling his eyes.

Stopping in her tracks, Anna turned around and looked at him. “I’m serious, Dean. It was nice to see you again. My brothers may hate you but seeing you reminds me of the good ol’ days and I miss them a lot.”

Dean could only give her a smile and a nod before looking back at the grave, listening to her leave. It really was nice to see her again. He would have to make a mental note to take her up on her offer but for now, he only wanted to be with Cas. He only wanted to see his ocean eyes again.

“I love you, Castiel Novak.”


	2. Castiel, the Pastor's Son

June 23th, 1946

The gentle rocking of the automobile against the old road would’ve been enough to put Castiel to sleep if it weren’t for Michael and Lucifer’s constant need to bicker. Surprisingly, Gabriel had been quiet the whole time yet Castiel had his suspicions that he was the mastermind behind most of his other brothers’ arguments. Maybe it would’ve been best if he just left when Naomi, Anna, and Raphael did with their mother. It definitely would have been a lot more relaxing. 

"What's the matter, Castiel?" asked Castiel's Father. He could see Cas' dissatisfaction out of the corner of his eye. The boy had a habit of showing his every emotion on his face.

"I just don't see why we have to go, Father," Castiel answered, his arms crossed as he stared out of the window. Nothing but empty fields and farm land as far as the eye can see.

"You know why, Ca-"

"But why? I don't see why we all have to move to Lawrence, I miss California already, Father."

Cas earned a scornful glance from his old man for that.

"Well look at it this way; with that little attitude of your's, this'll do you some good," said Cas' Father, "this will be a chance for us to spread the good word of the Lord. Salvation is important."

Castiel grunted in response.

"I think Cassie just misses all of the beautiful girls on the beaches. God knows I do," snickered Gabriel as he stretched his arm from the back seat and messed up Cas' hair.

"Shut up, Gabriel. Not everyone is a pervert like you," Castiel shot back. He smacked Gabe's hand away.

"Well it's not like you had any friends anyways, so I don't really see your problem," Lucifer butted in.

"You don't have to be so rude Luci, moving can be quite the ordeal for anyone. Castiel's antisocial behavior just happens to make him the black sheep in our old town," corrected Michael, "Who knows, maybe all the hicks in Lawrence have social skills on par with our little Cassie's."

"Thanks," said Castiel sarcastically. He couldn't wait to get out of this damned automobile and find semblance of sanity away from his brothers.

Lawrence couldn't be much further, right? After all, their Father had said it was only two hours away five hours ago.

~•~•~

The sun was already setting when they finally managed to make it to the old house they were soon to call home.

It was a three story house that at a glance you could say it looked like something out of a horror movie. Shutters hung loosely to the windows, the paint was faded to the point that you couldn't tell what the original color was, and the floor creaked an unholy sound with each step. A large empty field surrounded the house, with not another house in sight for miles on end.

"Maybe Castiel was right," murmured Lucifer the second he stepped out of the automobile, "California doesn't seem too bad right now."

"I mean it's a bit of a fixer upper but I think with a little bit of elbow grease it'll look nice," said Michael.

"Um no thanks, I'm out. I've seen The Uninvited," said Gabriel, "I don't want to die at the hands of any ghosts."

"And when did you see that?" asked their Father, the sternness in his voice sending shivers down Gabriel's spine.

"I'm going to go pick my room," shouted Gabriel and ran away into the house in an attempt to change the subject.

"I am too," said Michael and Lucifer in unison as they also ran at the first chance of escape. 

The boys' Father turned to look at Castiel with an eyebrow raised. "Are you going to run off as well?"

Castiel shook his head which earned him a smile from his Father. The two took some of the boxes out of the car and brought them into the house. The second they walked into the old place, the sound of his family seemed to fill it.  
Castiel could hear his siblings all fighting over which room was best and who got what (even Naomi and Raphael got involved), his mother could be heard in the kitchen, and an old record seemed to be playing from what would soon be the living room.

"Just place the boxes in over there and you can get going," said Father as he ran his fingers through Castiel's messy, black hair and kissed it before heading into the kitchen. Castiel could hear his mother shriek in surprise before there was another sound, laughter. He shrugged and did as he was told, placing the boxes in the living room.

He was about to head up the stairs before he thought for a moment about the bloodbath that could be happening up there. It would probably be best if he just waited it out and picked out a room from what was left rather than get in the way of his siblings. He was the youngest after all… well besides Anna.

But what to do?

Castiel looked through one of the old boxes and found one of Michael's old toy swords. The wood on it splintered and the paint was chipped but it still worked.

With that, Castiel walked out the front door and explored the field. They had several acres of land so he might as well explore some of it. After what had been about thirty minutes Castiel had discovered an old tree that could easily hold a tire swing, an old path the led to what looked like a shed, and a rather small pond. 

It was perfect for his imaginative adventures. He could see himself being a knight like in one of his books with the shed being his castle. Yes, yes that could work. But what would he be fighting against?

It was then that Castiel saw a duck in the pond and his mind soared with possibilities. Instead of a duck, he saw a dragon and like any knight, he would have to fight it. He made his way slowly to the foul beast, hiding in bushes and and grass until he was certain he could attack with ease. He jumped out from behind his hiding spot and pointed the dull blade at his enemy. The duck looked at him with curiosity. 

"Evil demon, you are on the land of Sir Castiel of House Novak and you must leave or I'll… I'll be forced to kill you," said Castiel in the toughest voice he could muster.

"What the hell are you doing?" came an unknown voice from behind him.

Castiel shrieked and turned around to face the stranger but tripped over himself and landed in the pond. The duck flew away in a fright and Castiel looked slowly up at the stranger.

In front of him stood a boy. His light brown hair was cut short and choppy, his eyes a bright green, and his tanned skin shined brightly in the setting sun. Castiel could feel his face redden from embarrassment as the other boy helped him out of the pond. Even when he was standing up and in front of him, Castiel couldn't bring himself to speak but instead made a series of noises.

"So are you gonna tell me who you are?" asked the boy.

Castiel nodded his head but said nothing.

"Ok… well what is it?" repeated the boy.

"What's what?" asked Castiel in return. 

"Your name, dumbass," said the boy with a roll of his emerald eyes.

"Oh… I'm Castiel. Castiel Novak," answered Cas.

"Castiel? What kind of name is that? It's weird," the boy said with a smirk. "Name's Dean, Dean Winchester."

"It's the name of an angel, my Father loves the names of angels," said Castiel, "Always have."

"So your old man must be the new pastor everyone in town was talking about," said Dean, "Why else would anyone name their kids after angels?"

"My Father takes his faith very seriously," Castiel nodded.

"Makes sense, so where are you from?"

"California."

"Wait what? Really?! That's so awesome! I've always wanted to go to Cali, it sounds so much better than this hell hole," Dean said with a smile that gave Castiel's stomach a serious case of butterflies. 

"I liked it a lot," said Castiel.

"I bet!" exclaimed Dean, "I would love it too! The thought of living by a beach makes me real happy, I bet everybody living in Cali lives next to one."

"Um… no, not really. It took over an hour just to get one for us," said Castiel.

"Way to shoot down my happiness, Cas," said Dean coldly.

"It's um… my name is Castiel," corrected Cas, embarrassed by the shyness in his voice. He must've sounded like a baby in front of Dean, though Dean looked like he didn't really care.

"I know, but Cas sounds cooler," said Dean.

"Oh," was all Castiel could muster, a slight blush to his face.

"So what are you doing out here?" asked Dean before the silence between the two of them had gotten too awkward. 

"Well I was pretending to be a knight but that uh… that didn't happen, I guess," mumbled Cas, kicking the dirt mindlessly. 

"That sounds like fun," said Dean, "I'll play."

"Y-you'll what?"

"I'll play, suns still out so I don't wanna go home just yet."

"I'd like that."

"Cool, now… I think I have the perfect place in mind for a fort for us," said Dean, a mischievous smile on his face.

Castiel didn't know what to expect but was excited to go. It might've been a new home that he wasn't quite fond of but he did have one thing here that he didn't have back in California. A friend.

~•~•~

It was already dark by the time Castiel had made it home but his family didn't seem to mind much. Dean had walked him back so that way he wouldn't get lost, though Cas was sure he could've made it back just fine.

The rooms had already been taken and that left Cas with one of the smaller ones on the second floor. He didn't mind in all honesty. The room had its fair share of problems. The paint was old and chipped away, it needed an overall deep clean, and he could've sworn there was a hole that a mouse kept popping his head out of. But it was the perfect size for him and he liked that he had a window next to his bed that let him watch the sunset. To Castiel, that's all he needed to be happy. 

The fact that it was his own room that he didn't have to share with his siblings was also a plus in his book. Much better than sharing one with Gabriel and Raphael, much better indeed.

The moon was high in the sky and Castiel found himself looking out of his window, enjoying the night breeze. He could see the road that led to his home and along the way he could see another house in the distance. It's lights were on and he could see Dean outside, playing with another little boy on their porch. Cas smiled and laid down in his bed. 

Tomorrow he could ask Dean if he wanted to play and then he could spend all day exploring. That plan would be a lot of fun and God knows Castiel needed it. He had already finished all of his books twice over and the summer days seemed to get longer. They could see what was in that old shed. Or play on that tire swing. Or see how large the land Castiel's father had gotten really was. Or maybe they could-

A knock on Castiel's door brought him out of his train of thought.

"Yes?" asked Castiel.

"Hey Cassie," said Gabriel, walking into Castiel's room and plopping himself on Cas' bed like they still shared a room.

"Gabriel, I was trying to sleep," said Castiel.

"Yeah but I wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"I dunno, stuff?"

"Good night, Gabriel."

"Ok, fine," pouted Gabe, "Do you really think we'll get used to living here? I mean, Kansas isn't the most fun of places to live."

"I don't know but it's like Father says, we have no other choice," said Castiel with a sigh, "I wish we stayed but I don't want to add more stress to Mother and Father."

"Yeah, I feel the same way," said Gabriel. 

"Gabriel?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I made a friend," said Castiel, a small smile forming.

"That's great, Cassie. At least one of us is making an effort here," said Gabriel, rubbing his hand in Castiel's mess of hair. "Once school starts I'm sure I'll be the most popular guy in school, but until then…"

"Until then what?" asked Castiel, his eyes narrowed as he looked as Gabe suspiciously. 

"You'll have to deal with me," Gabriel laughed as he tackled Castiel on his bed and tried to tickle him. This ended in failure, however, since Cas managed to kick him off of his bed before any real damage could be done.

Gabriel got up and walked over to the door, but before walking out he faced Castiel. "Night Cassie."

"Good night, Gabriel," said Castiel as he laid down and rested his head on the pillow. Maybe Castiel would be fine here, after all he did manage to make a friend before Gabriel. Then again, that's not saying much as Gabriel could've just as easily made an enemy in even less time. Still, the thought that he had a friend like Dean made Castiel happy.


	3. Movie and a Treat

June 25th, 1946

Castiel stood at the edge of the road, the sight of Dean's house still making him a little uncomfortable. All he had to do was walk up to the door and see if Dean was there but Castiel had seen what Dean's father had looked like the day prior when he had come home after work. Personally, he didn't want to have to ever talk to him. The man sent shivers down Castiel's spine, he looked as if he could kill the boy without even having to touch him. How Dean could live with such a man was beyond him.

"Come on, Castiel. You have to do this," he said to himself. Castiel stood up straight and made his way to the porch where he knocked on the screen door.

"Oh hey, Cas," said Dean. Castiel couldn't help but smile softly as he saw Dean open the door to greet him, rubbing the sleep from his emerald eyes.

"Hello Dean," said Castiel. "Do you want to play today?"

"I promised Sammy that I was going to take him to see a film today," murmured Dean, still not entirely awake.

"Oh…" said Castiel as he looked down at his feet.

"You can come with us if you'd like."

"I think I'm fine. Father doesn't really like us going to see films, is all. He says that they're a distraction from the Lord."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm… well, he likes the Ten Commandments. My family would watch that in the theater back in California," said Castiel while he remembered fondly of the days that he and his family would spend in those theater seats to watch the sea part before Moses. He was always awe-struck and for the longest time thought that the film really captured a miracle only to be led on by Gabriel who finally had to explain to him the magic of special effects and editing. 

"That's cool but what do you think about movies?" asked Dean, clearly not interested about what Castiel's father thought about the subject.

"I like them," confessed Castiel, "Zorro is one of my favorites."

"Sammy and I aren't going to see Zorro but I'm pretty sure you'll like this one," said Dean with a sly smile.

"You do?"

"You're damn right I think you would," said Dean, "Now, how much money do you have?"

"I don't have any," said Castiel, flipping his pockets inside out to show nothing more than a ball of string.

"That won't work, we need to get you enough for a ticket," mumbled Dean, who got to thinking, "I'll be back in a jiffy."

"It's fine, Dean. I can see you af-." But it was too late, Dean had closed the door and went off. 

About five minutes later Dean had come out with money in one hand and a little boy holding onto his other hand. He handed Castiel some of the cash and put the rest in his pocket.

"You really didn't have to, I hate for you to have to use your own money," said Castiel, the blush on his face getting a heavier shade of red as he put the money in his own pocket.

"It's fine," said Dean "Let's just get going, I'd hate to be late."

Castiel just nodded and looked at the little five year old who was holding tightly to Dean's free hand. His dark brown hair was a shaggy mess and his clothes looked a bit worn out. They had to have been hand-me-downs from Dean.

"Hello, little one," said Castiel with a smile and a hand held out to him, "I'm Castiel."

The little boy just stared at him with a blank expression and slowly hid behind Dean.

"Don't be that way, Sammy," said Dean. He moved out of the way and gently nudged Sam to stand in front of Castiel. "Introduce yourself."

"I'm Sam," said Sam as he took Castiel's hand in his and shook.

"It's nice to meet you," said Castiel, the smile never left his face.

"I bet it is," said Sam as he looked at Dean and smirked, "Can we go see the Wolfman now?"

"Apologize Samantha and then we can go," said Dean, his hand hitting the back of Sam's head in irritation. 

"Sorry," said Sam as he looked up at Castiel. It was obvious the kid didn't mean it but as long as he said Castiel was fine. He grew up with empty apologies from all of his siblings so hearing one from a stranger didn't bother him one bit.

What did bother Castiel was the movie that Sam said they were going to see. He had never been the best with anything horror related. Hell, there were passages in the bible and his father's own sermons that made Castiel uneasy and scared. His frightful nature was something that Gabriel found funny and would often jump from behind corners to scare him. But the worst would have to be Lucifer, who made it his mission to have Castiel living in a state of perpetual fear. The thought of seeing a horror movie would only make Castiel even more terrified in that old house. 

"So are we really going to go see Wolfman?" asked Castiel.

"Yeah, that was the plan," answered Dean, his mind wandering off as they walked along the side of the road into town.

"Oh, goodie," sighed Castiel.

"You aren't nervous are you, Cas?" asked Dean, catching onto the obvious dread that was plastered all over Castiel's face. 

"Of course not, I can handle anything you can," lied Castiel but judging by the look Dean had given him, he had not bought a single word of it.

"Cas if you'd like to see something else. I don't mind," said Dean. Sam started to protest but Dean put a quick stop to it.

"I don't mind, Dean, I think it'll be fun," Castiel reassured.

"Alright," said Dean and left it at that. The rest of their walk into town was just small talk about what they thought the film would be like, or what life in California was like (to which Sam found particular interest in), or what they would do after.

~•~•~

Just like Dean had thought, Castiel was absolutely terrified by the film. Several times during the movie, he would scream and hide his face behind either his hands or Dean's arm. He didn't mind much, he was just more concerned about how the other boy would feel once he was home alone. 

Sam and Dean were used to seeing scary things, it was pretty much a regular occurrence for them. Anything horror related was a bit of an obsession for the both of them, actually.

But Cas? Castiel had clearly never been very fond of horror and Dean regretted taking him to see the movie.

While Sam went on and on about how cool he thought the Wolfman was, Castiel just listened and nodded his head. Dean took this as his chance to take what was left of his change out of his pocket and got to thinking.

"Hey, how do you two feel about gettin' some candy?" asked Dean. He wasn't at all surprised at Sam's shout of happiness and looked at Cas.

"I'm fine, Dean. I don't want you to spend anymore on me," Castiel said with a blush.

"That's not what I asked," sighed Dean, rubbing the back of his head and watching the automobiles pass by before looking back at Castiel. "You're gettin' something."

"Oh," said Castiel.

He had just accepted it with no fight at all. Dean found that odd. Did he always just give into what others said? Dean made a mental note to test this later and see what exactly Cas would do if he was told he had no choice.

The trio walked down main street and made their way to the candy store. It was only about a five minute walk but in the summer heat they were practically begging that the store owner put out the fan today. To their delight, he did and they huddled around it in an attempt to cool off. 

"Y'all have to buy something if you're going to be in here," said the store owner. His nametag read Andy.

"Well that depends, Gallagher. What do you have for us today?" asked Dean, a sly smile on his face as he let go of Sam's hand to look at the counter. 

"The same as always, just pick," said Andy with a roll of his eyes. The Winchester brothers always made it a habit to come in and annoy him. It passed the time.

"Oh look Sammy, they have different taffy flavors today," said Dean and pointed through the glass. Sam ran up and started up his usual questions to which Dean slowly walked back and whispered into Castiel's ear. "I'm going to hand you some stuff, hide it in your pockets."

Castiel looked at Dean as if to say no but stopped himself and nodded reluctantly. 

While Sam kept Andy busy, Dean handed Castiel some gum and chocolate. Castiel did as he was told but he looked so awkward and nervous anybody with a brain could tell what they were doing. Lucky enough, Andy didn't have a brain. 

"Can I have a free sample?" asked Sam.

"No," said Andy to which Sam pouted and crossed his arms.

"Then I don't want anything," said Sam.

"And you two?" asked Andy, clearly tired of their presence after not even two minutes of being in the store. 

"I'm good and you Cas?" said Dean.

"Hmm? Oh, no… I'm good," said Castiel after snapping out of his thoughts. 

But Dean had seen what he was looking at and looked at Andy. "He'll take that sucker."

After buying the giant rainbow lollipop, the boys left the shop and rounded the corner to look at their stolen goods. In all they had six chocolates, 3 pieces of gum, a pack of fun dip, a chocolate covered cherry, and a case of candied cigarettes. 

Dean took out one of the candied cigarettes and put it between his teeth while Sam dug into his chocolate. He watched as Castiel smiled to himself and licked his sucker. It felt weird but Dean couldn't help but watch as Castiel enjoyed his treat. 

"That make up for the film?" asked Dean and bit his lip to hide the smile when Castiel nodded and hummed his answer. "Good."

The boys continued to sit at the corner and enjoy their treats when an old truck pulled up. It was Bobby, a friend of the family, who asked them all if they'd like a ride back to their house. The boys could all see the sun beginning to set and without much of an argument or discussion, they all said yes.

When they got to the Winchester house, Dean sent Sam inside and walked Castiel to his house. Bobby said that he would be at their house for a little bit so Dean felt safe leaving his baby brother there. He had always trusted the older man more than any other adult.

"I'm sorry about today, Cas," said Dean out of the blue on the road leading to Castiel's front porch.

"For what?" Castiel asked with his head tilted to the side.

"For making you see something you weren't really comfortable with," said Dean

"Oh, that… that's fine, Dean. I didn't mind it, I had fun." 

"You did?"

"Yes, I like spending time with you. And Sam seems to be warming up to me," Castiel said, giggling a little.

"Good so um… which room is your's?" asked Dean in an attempt to change the subject before he started blushing.

"Oh that one," said Castiel and pointed at the small window on the second floor. It was slightly cracked and let onto a slanted roof with overgrown vines covering most of it. A nice spot to sit and relax.

"That's pretty cool," said Dean. He turned around and started to walk away. "Well I'll see you tomorrow, Cas. Don't get too scared, ok?"

"I won't," shouted Castiel who just rolled his eyes and went inside to eat dinner with his family. The house loud with gossip and laughter, the typical Novak sounds.

~•~•~

Did it bother Castiel that the moon was full? A little. Okay, maybe more like a lot. He cursed himself for watching that damned film and yet he was still happy that he did. Doing things like that wasn't really something he was used to. But being around Dean somehow made it a worthwhile experience. He would have to ask Dean what other films were showing but Castiel was sure Dean knew exactly what would be best to see. After all, it was an amazing movie, just scary. Too scary.

Castiel got off of his bed and walked over to his box of books. After some searching he found his faded copy of The House at Pooh Corner. He hadn't read it in years, not since he was about four and what eight year old would actually bother with reading a children's book. He was grown now and read things by Kafka and Hemingway because that's what adults read. Right?

But right now Castiel needed something to calm his nerves and this seemed like it would do the trick. So he plopped himself in his bed and began to read.

Soon the hours passed by and the next thing he knew he was almost done with the book. That was until he heard a faint knocking sound which snapped him out of his concentration. He looked around his room and saw nothing but he could still hear the faint tapping noise. It was almost as if someone was tapping on glass.

Castiel slowly looked up and at his window. Through his curtains he could make out the faint silhouette of a figure. A slender one that somehow made it to his window and Castiel only had one thought. Wolfman.

After turning off his lamp, he looked for the heaviest thing he could find and ended up with a baseball bat that Raphiel had given to him years ago. He got up from his bed and made his way to the window, taking his time with each step.

The tapping grew more impatient, probably because the beast was growing more and more hungry with each passing second. Castiel used the bat to tap back against the window and that made the noise stop. 

He waited for a few seconds and took a peek to see if the monster was gone. And as he opened up the curtain he was met with a green eye staring right back at him.

Castiel screamed and fell backwards, trying to catch his breath as it dawned on him who it was. He got back up and opened the window.

"Dean?! What are you doing here?" asked Castiel in a hushed tone.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright," said Dean, giving Castiel a teasing smile.

"Well I'm obviously fine," said Castiel defensively.

"Obviously."

It may have been dark but Castiel could've sworn Dean had a black eye. His right eye seemed less bright, more puffy, more swollen.

"Dean, are you alright?" asked Castiel this time, taking Dean's face in his hands to inspect the damage in the light of the full moon

"I'm fine, Cas. Trust me, I'm fine."

"You're not," said Castiel sternly.

"I am… but can I spend the night?"

"Of course, you can sleep in my bed."

"Thanks Cas," said Dean and climbed inside the window. He made his way over to Castiel's bed and laid down as if it were his own.

Castiel followed behind him and sat in the bed, watching Dean.

"So what were you doing up so late?" asked Dean, looking up at Castiel. His head laid gently on Castiel's pillow. 

"I was reading," said Castiel.

"What were you reading?"

"You can't laugh at me," said Castiel in a dead serious tone. He was thankful it was dark because he could feel his face burning from embarrassment. 

"Why would I?"

"Just promise me you won't."

"Okay, okay, I promise."

"The House at Pooh Corner."

Dean thought for a second and only asked, "Isn't it about that stuffed bear?" 

"Yeah, it is."

"Is it good?"

"You've never read it?" Castiel looked surprised.

"No, I'm not the best at reading," mumbled Dean, clearly he wasn't very proud about it.

"I can read it to you if you'd like," Castiel offered. 

"I'd like that," said Dean with a smile.

Castiel turned on his lamp, opened up the book and began to read. "Chapter One. One day when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do…"


	4. Summer Swim

June 30th, 1946

The summer heat was driving Castiel's entire house up the wall so the very first chance he saw to escape, he took it. Though spending the day in Dean's backyard and huddled under a tree was hardly the thing he wanted to do either. He just wanted to find someplace nice and cool that he could ignore the summer sun in peace. Castiel thought and thought and thought and yet nothing came to mind.

"Why don't we just go to the pond next to your house?" asked Dean, wiping the sweat off of his brow. 

Castiel wanted to slap himself when Dean brought up the pond. Why hadn't he thought of it? It was literally on his land and he didn't think of it at all. The answer to his questions was right there all along.

"I hate it when you're right," said Castiel, standing up and stretching.

"Sure you do," said Dean, sarcastically. "You must hate me a lot then."

"At times, yes," shrugged Castiel.

"You're about to hate me a lot more," snickered Dean.

"Why?" Castiel asked, genuinely curious and losing all focus on their banter.

"Because you're about to eat my dust," said Dean as he punched Castiel's arm and bolted across the dirt road in front of his house.

"Dean! You're no fair!" shouted Castiel as he ran as fast as he could after his asshole of a friend.

In no time at all they made it to the pond and took off all of their clothes, jumping in without a care in the world. The water was even better than they imagined it. It's cold embrace welcoming the boys to swim deeper and deeper. 

This is exactly what the both of them needed. The two of them swam around in the cool water for what seemed like hours, their laughter could've been heard for miles given how happy they were. 

It was only when the summer sun began to say goodbye against the horizon that the two boys got out of the pond. Castiel put on his shirt but didn't bother to button it up as he sat on the edge of the pond, his feet playfully drawing little circles in the water. Dean didn't bother getting dressed and just watched the sun set. He didn't seem embarrassed at all by his naked body, Castiel had to admit that he wished he too was that confident. They watched the sun set quietly. 

"That was a great idea you had, Dean," said Castiel, not taking his eyes off of the reds, oranges, and purples that painted the sky. 

"I know," was all Dean said and they both returned to staying silent.

"I've always liked the sunset. It's pretty," said Castiel.

"Yeah, me too," said Dean, smiling.

"Hey Dean?" 

"Hmm?"

"Are you spending the night again?" asked Castiel, holding his legs to his chest and turning his head to look at Dean.

"No, I can't," said Dean, looking down at Castiel, "Bobby can't take Sam tonight so I have to watch him."

"Well, what about your mother? Couldn't she-"

"She's dead," said Dean flatly, looking away at the sun again.

"Oh… I didn't mean anything by it Dean. I'm sorry," said Castiel, he could see the pained look in Dean's eyes. Castiel never did see anyone besides Dean or Sam at the old Winchester house. He should've put the pieces together. It was obvious, right?

"It's fine, Cas. It happened a while ago," said Dean.

"If you ever want to talk abo-"

"I'm fine, Cas," said Dean and left the conversation at that.

It seemed like time had slowed down after that. The seconds felt like hours as the two of them watched that setting sun and stars that felt bold enough to start shining. Castiel should've known better, he ruined it. He was praying now more than anything that something would happen, something to change the damper mood that set in between the two of them. 

And almost as if on some perfect timing, Dean and Castiel both heard the noise from the bushes behind them. Turning to face the rustling, they both saw Gabriel with the rest of the Novak boys in tow. It was almost as God himself sent Castiel a blessing to change their moods. Or maybe it was a curse. 

"See! I told you I knew I heard something," shouted Gabriel, the loudness and shock of the whole situation causing Dean to jump into the pond to hide his naked body but not before the Novak boys all saw him.

"Skinny dipping? Castiel, I'm surprised at you," began Michael but was quickly shut down by Lucifer who stripped down to nothing and jumped into the pond. It wasn't long before Gabriel and Raphael followed suit. "Them though, them, I'm not surprised."

"It was hot Michael," said Castiel, fiddling with his fingers but stayed sitting in his place.

"It wasn't a bad idea though," said Michael, sitting down next to Castiel as they both watched their brothers wrestle around in the water. After getting used to the thing, Dean also took part in the horse play.

"So you won't tell Father?" asked Castiel as he looked up at his oldest brother.

"No, I don't think I will," shrugged Michael, "I'd hate for Father to beat all of us… Besides, we probably would've done this sooner had we've known about this place."

"Thank you Michael," said Castiel.

Michael just watched the other boys fighting in the pond, water splashing all over the place. All Michael asked in response was "So who's that?"

"His name is Dean," answered Castiel.

"And how is this 'Dean'?" said Michael, the small hint of sternness in his voice.

"He's a good guy, Michael. I like him," said Castiel.

"Well you better be careful, I don't want to even think that you two are up to no good. I already have enough on my plate with Lucifer, Gabriel, and Raphael," said Michael, that cold look in his eyes again.

"We won't, you have nothing to worry about," muttered Castiel. It was true that with how busy their Father got with work and how their Mother would be busy with housework, Michael often ended up being in charge of his siblings. Though Castiel wasn't much of a handful, at least compared to the likes of Lucifer or Gabriel, he wasn't going to act up now that he finally made a friend.

"Good, that's what I like to hear," said Michael, his hand messing up Castiel's hair out of habit at this point. 

As he stood up, Michael picked up Castiel and threw him over his shoulder. Castiel kicking and screaming in protest. Michael just laughed and threw Castiel into the pond only to then be attacked by the other boys. Michael watched, stripped, and joined into the chaos. With the summer sun now gone, replaced by the cold light of the moon, they all played in that little pond until their lips were purple and bodies shivering. Dean really did have a great idea.


	5. Piano Lessons

July 2nd, 1946

"Pay attention," said Naomi, her fingers snapping in Castiel's face. 

"Oh, I'm sorry" said Castiel, shaking his head and trying to focus on the lesson at hand. Ever since Michael and Lucifer managed to work the piano into the house, Castiel's piano lessons began again. He liked them but it was at times like this that he wished he had kept his mouth shut when he said he wanted to learn at the age of five. Naomi was a stern teacher and demanded perfection. Truthfully, Castiel would rather be with Dean than spending another moment listening to his older sister berate him for not playing up to her standards. 

"How do you expect to get better if your head is always in the clouds, Castiel?" asked Naomi. 

"I'm sorry, Naomi. I'll get it right this time," said Castiel. He could tell she was about to go on another one of her legendary lectures that could make this lesson last for another four more hours.

With a crack of his knuckles, Castiel began to play Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 (in C major to be exact). He could feel his sister's judging eyes glare holes through him so Castiel just closed his own eyes and focused on the music at hand. He had played this song hundreds of times for her in the past and each time she looked at him as if it were his first time even touching a piano. But his family always did try their best at anything they put their minds to, so it doesn't surprise him that Naomi had such high expectations for him. Though he did wish she could be a little easier on him.

When Castiel played the final key, he put his arms at his side and looked up at his sister for approval. Naomi just nodded her head and told him to wait right there for her while she left the room. He could've sworn he saw the faint essence of a smile on her face.

It seemed like twenty minutes had passed as Castiel just sat there twiddling with his fingers when Naomi came back into the room with a small packet of papers in hand. 

"Here you go, you'll be learning Balakirev's Islamey," she said, a rather confident tone in her voice.

"I'll be what?! Naomi, I've seen you play that one before, it's next to impossible to learn," whined Castiel.

"No, it's not. Now I don't expect you to master it in one night but I do expect you to have learned how to play it by tomorrow morning," said Naomi, that serious look back in her eyes again. 

"I… okay," mumbled Castiel in defeat, he knew there was no way of talking her out of this one.

"Good," she said and turned on her heels, leaving the room.

Castiel just sighed and began to practice his new song. His mind didn't even think of where to start with it. He had skimmed through the pages, reading it over and over again. He had tried to play it but it just didn't come out right. Everytime he played the song he went far too slow and still would mess up the keys.

Hours had passed and Castiel was still stuck on the piano bench, his fingers growing numb from all of the practice. It didn't help that the summer heat made the room even hotter. He had only managed to get the first part of the song down. That was good, right? It only took him most of the day.

"Hey Cas! What are you up to?" asked the voice from behind him. 

"Dean!" Castiel exclaimed, turning his head to see Dean's head over his shoulder and looking at the music sheets.

Dean just smiled and sat next to Castiel, looking down at the keys and running his fingers gently over the ivory.

"Who let you in?" asked Castiel, his fingers messing with his hair.

"Gabe. He said you were bored," said Dean with a shrug. "So I figured you'd need some company."

"Thank you, Dean," said Castiel, his smile soft and a bit of blush coming to his cheeks.

"Don't mention it. Now… what are we learning?"

"Balakirev."

"Who?" Dean asked, his face contorted at the sound of the name. 

"He's a russian composer," said Castiel, looking through the sheets of music again.

"Oh… well I can't really help you with that. I'm no good at music," said Dean, laughing to himself.

"You don't practice any music, Dean?"

"Nope, I don't have the money to."

"I can teach you," said Castiel with a bright smile, excited at the thought of it.

"Nah," said Dean and waved his hand. "If I want to learn an instrument, I want to learn something cool."

"Like what?" asked Castiel flatly, his face dulled.

"Like a guitar," chuckled Dean, playing an air guitar with his fingers.

"It suits you," muttered Castiel sarcastically. 

"I think so too," said Dean, not recognizing the tone in Castiel's voice and continuing to strum the air.

"I think Gabriel might have one," Castiel suggested, if his friend wanted to learn the least he could do was point him the right direction.

"Yeah? I'll have to ask him to give me lessons then," said Dean, putting down his imaginary guitar. "Now, play for me."

"I'm sorry?" said Castiel, looking up at Dean with a surprised expression. 

"Play for me," said Dean, "I'd love to hear it."

Castiel could only nod his head, laid his hands gently on the white keys, and played. With Dean looking at him, Castiel closed his eyes to focus on the music. Maybe he just didn't like people watching him whenever he played, not even his sister and not even his friend. But that didn't matter at the point, the music spoke to him as he played. His fingers seemed to work it naturally even though he did mess up on several parts of the song. He was secretly praying to himself that Dean couldn't hear it. The only real problem was when he got past the part he was able to play and ended the song with an ugly sound of out of tune keys.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't very good," said Castiel, looking down at his fingers that were now in his lap, gripping each other.

"Cas…" said Dean, "that was awesome!"

"Excuse me?" Castiel shot up his head to look at Dean who was smiling bigger than he had ever seen before.

"Yeah, Cas," said Dean, nodding his head violently, "I've never heard something so pretty before. Can you play it again?"

"O-of course," Castiel laughed, if his face wasn't red before than it definitely was now.

"Hell yeah!" yelled Dean, pumping his fist in the air.

"Dean!" Castiel corrected, "You can't say that in my house. Father will get angry if he hears it."

"Oh sorry," whispered Dean who was now the one blushing.

"It's ok…" said Castiel, "You know my grandfather knew Balakirev?"

"Oh yeah? That's cool, I didn't know he knew some old russian guy?" asked Dean, impressed that Castiel's family even knew anyone of importance. It wasn't like his family ever did.

"When grandfather lived in the old country, they used to play music together as children," said Castiel fondly. 

"The old country?" said Dean, confused again.

"Russia. My family is Russian, Dean, " sighed Castiel yet still he smiled at his friend.

"Oh, I should've put that together," said Dean, laughing.

They both laughed and Dean asked to hear the song again. Castiel gave in and cracked his fingers (in an attempt to show off) and played.


	6. A Novak Family Dinner

July 7th, 1946

The pouring rain hit against the old Winchester house and with it came the loud sounds of thunder. Dean sat on his bed and Sammy was on the ground with his blocks. They both sat in silence, listening to the rain drops pounding their roof. It wouldn't be much longer until that silence would be interrupted and replaced with something much worse than the rain outside. 

Dean could only stare blankly at his brother who was busy trying to build a small town out of his faded blue and red blocks. Sam interrupted the silence with a hum. It was the old lullaby that his mother would sing to him. How Sammy could remember the thing was beyond him, he was so young when it all happened. His mind went to those old days, when Sam was a baby, their mom was alive, and their dad wasn't… well, nothing was the same as those days.

His thoughts were cut short when they both looked up at the sound of an old truck pulling up. The sound of it's exhaust popping could be heard even over the storm.

"Get your coat on, Sammy," said Dean, who also got up and put his raincoat and boots on.

Sam nodded, did as he was told and ran out of the room to his own. He came back a little later with his raincoat on and a little scarf his mother had knitted Dean years ago.

Dean smiled a little at the sight of it and made sure Sam was all snug in his outfit, wrapping the scarf around Sam's face.

"Thanks, Dean," said Sam after he pulled the scarf off his face and below his chin.

"Don't mention it, now put it back or you're gonna get a cold," said Dean who fixed it himself, not bothering to wait for Sam to listen.

The two boys made their way to the front of the house where Dean opened the shoe closet and had Sammy get in.

"Stay here and I'll get you when it's time, okay?" said Dean. 

Sam nodded and stood there patiently as the door was closed.

Not a moment later did the front door slam open and in came Dean's old man. He was tripping over himself and grumbling some nonsense. When he saw Dean, his eyes narrowed and he sneered.

"The fuck are you looking at? Can't you see your old man needs help? Take off my boots," commanded his father, the slurring was worse than usual.

Dean nodded and kneeled before his dad to take off his boots when he was kicked down to the floor. His father began kicking and shouting at him that he was too slow. 

Luckily enough, Bobby came quickly behind and held back Dean's drunken father.

"John, you don't wanna go doing that," said Bobby, "the boy was just surprised to see you is all."

"I don't give a fuck! The kid's too much of a pussy for his own good," grumbled John, his feet still trying to kick Dean.

"Yes, you do. Now let's get you to bed," said Bobby. It took all of his strength to lift up John and walk over Dean but he did it. He left the young boy there and carried the drunken man to the back of the house, to his room.

Slowly, Dean sat up and rubbed his stomach. He didn't feel anything broken, it just hurt like hell. That bruise would definitely last for a bit.

Bobby came out of the room and closed the door gently before walking over to Dean. He helped the boy up and pulled up his shirt and coat to see the damage.

"Nothin' broken, just bruised," said Bobby, pulling Dean's shirt back down.

"If it was broken you'd be the first to know," said Dean, fixing himself.

"Sorry Dean, he just got away a lot faster than I thought he would," apologized Bobby.

"It's alright, Bobby. Sammy's ready," said Dean, pointing to the shoe closet.

The man stood up and walked over to the closet, opening it. When he saw Sammy, he smiled and picked him up.

"Is it time to go?" asked Sam, holding onto Bobby.

"Yeah, little buddy. Ellen's got food ready at home," chuckled Bobby. Sam smiled at the idea of a warm meal.

The three of them walked out of the house and to the old truck. Dean buckled Sam in and walked over to Bobby.

"You're not comin'?" Bobby said, looking a bit confused.

"No, I have somewhere else I'm going to stay for the night," said Dean.

"Do you wanna ride? It's pretty bad out here," offered Bobby, concerned for the boy.

"No, it's not even a mile from here so I'll be okay," said Dean.

"You're goin' to the Novak place again? You might as well live with them at this point," laughed Bobby.

Dean smirked and rolled his eyes. Would he love to live with them? Hell yeah. But with Sammy, he didn't want to become even more of a burden than he felt he already was. They were too nice with him as is. It would just seem like he was mooching off of them, though they would never say that.

The two of them chatted for a little bit longer before Bobby got back into his truck and turned the ignition.

"Tell Ellen I said hi," said Dean and Bobby nodded, driving off and leaving the Winchester boy there in the rain. 

Dean looked up at the sky and could see the rain wasn't letting up anytime soon so he made his way to Novak house. It took a little longer than usual but before you knew it, Dean was at the front door and soaked to the bone. He knocked on the door and waited.

"Oh hey Dean, you're here pretty late. Did you have another nightmare or something?" teased Gabriel, his smile never seeming to leave his face. 

"You could say that," said Dean as he punched Gabriel in the stomach and laughed.

"We're about to have dinner so come on in… I'll go get you some clothes," said Gabe and went to find some clothes while leaving Dean in the front hall.

Dean took off his coat and hung it up on the coat rack. Even with that old thing he was still soaking wet, it didn't protect him from shit. He needed a new coat. 

"Lucifer! I swear I didn't touch your books! It wasn't me!" screamed Castiel as he ran down the staircase, Lucifer not far behind him.

"Well it wasn't Gabriel, he's too stupid to read a comic strip let alone a book," shouted Lucifer, chasing after the blue eyed boy. "You're the only one in this house who would do it!"

Castiel turned the corner and saw Dean standing there awkwardly. Lucifer took this as his chance and lunged forward since his little brother was distracted. 

But Castiel turned at just the right time, jumped out of the way and hid behind Dean.

"Tell him I didn't do it, Dean. Tell him I didn't touch his book," begged Cas, holding onto Dean's wet shirt.

"Uh… he didn't do it," said Dean emphatically, holding his hands up.

Lucifer got up and rubbed his head, a lump was forming from where he hit it on the wall.

"Whatever, just don't touch my stuff. Got it?" he growled, heading up the stairs and back to his room to sulk.

"Did you do it?" whispered Dean, not taking his eyes off of Lucifer. 

"Yes, but he doesn't need to know that," whispered Castiel.

"Ah ok," said Dean, smiling.

"Dean! You're completely wet!" Castiel said, only now realizing it. 

"You've got the eye of a hawk, Cas. A hawk," said Dean.

"Oh shut up. I'm going to get you a towel," said Castiel, slapping Dean's chest. He looked down at his wet hands and rubbed them into his pants to dry them off.

"Already got it," said Gabriel, throwing the towel and laughing as it hit Dean in the face. "I got you some clothes too, no underwear though so I hope you don't mind going commando."

Dean dried off his hair and took the clothes to Castiel's room to change. He could hear Cas and Gabe bickering about how he needed a new coat as he left. When he locked the door behind himself, he heard a small bell ring and the sounds of someone shouting that dinner was ready. That made him feel all the better.

~•~•~

A Novak dinner is a bit of a chaotic occasion as Dean had soon come to learn. It was filled with bickering, shouting, and most of all laughing. These were all sounds Dean had grown accustomed to, of course, but it still amazed him how they all were.

Tonight, Mrs. Novak had made a full meal consisting of ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, steamed vegetables, bread rolls, and the faint scent of a chocolate cake could be smelled from the kitchen. Dean had never seen so much food in his life, let alone his own kitchen. It surprised him that Castiel's father had all the money for this from being a pastor. Though he would later learn that it was customary for all Novak children to get some kind of job to help support the family.

Dean sat at the corner of the table and next to Castiel who was waiting patiently for everyone to calm down to begin to eat. Gabe sat next to Castiel and Lucifer. He was busy trying to make a paper airplane. Lucifer was having an argument with Michael who sat next to him. Mrs. Novak was next to Michael at one end of the table, setting up her plate. Next to her sat Anna who was busy sucking on a pacifier. Naomi was next and busy trying to figure out her schedule for the next day. After that was Raphael who was busy eye fucking the ham. Then Mr. Novak was sitting at the other end of the table who stood up and smiled.

"We have a guest again today," he said joyfully, "and it is the guest's honor to say grace. Dean?"

"Oh um… grace," said Dean and nodded his head.

And almost like the gun going off at a horse race, Dean's words were all they needed. It was like a mad house with everyone taking what they could first. It sent Dean into a shock. He didn't know what to do.

It was nice though that Dean didn't have to join in their uncivilized behavior because Castiel had tapped his shoulder and handed him a plate with the best he had managed to find. He took the plate and winked at Cas almost instinctively which caused Castiel to blush. 

Once everyone had their plates they began to eat and seemed like fully civilized people again. They were back to chatting and laughing like they hadn't just tried to stab each other for food.

Dean ate his food happily but out of the corner of his eye he could see Cas and Gabe whispering. Gabe shook his head which caused Castiel to jab his stomach with his elbow. The older brother thought for a minute and looked at his mother.

"Uh… Mother?" asked Gabriel.

"Yes dear?" she said, cutting into her ham.

"Dean needs a new coat, his old one is a bit well… it's a bit shit," said Gabe.

"Gabriel!" shouted Mr. Novak.

"Sorry, Father. But it's true, his coat didn't even help him in the rain on his way over here. He was practically drowning with how wet he was," said Gabriel.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that," Mrs. Novak said, "I'm sure the boys have a spare one that he can have. Don't you?" 

She looked at all of her sons who looked at each other, none wanting to volunteer. After a few seconds, Michael said he was sure he had one in the attic from when he was Dean's age he could give him.

"Oh that's splendid," cheered Mrs. Novak, "thank you, Michael."

"You're welcome, Mother," said Michael, smiling coldly. 

"I'm sorry Dean but you're a bit too big for my clothes," whispered Castiel apologetically.

"Are you calling me fat?" asked Dean, looking puzzled.

"No, more like you're too tall," Castiel said and shrugged. 

~•~•~

Dinner had ended and all of the Novak children had gone to the kitchen to clean up. That was except for Michael who ordered Dean to follow him up the stairs and to the attic.

The two walked up there in complete silence. Dean was never able to get a read on Michael. He was sure the older boy hated him but for whatever reason Dean didn't quite know.

Michael pulled down the ladder to the attic and climbed up with Dean not far behind him.

"Dean," said Michael.

"Yeah?" Dean asked, watching Michael look through old boxes.

"Why are you friends with my brother?" Asked Michael back, finding a box and taking it down to look through.

"Because I like him, he's fun to be around," said Dean.

"No other reason?"

"No, none that I can think of."

Michael pulled out his old yellow raincoat. But you couldn't tell by looking at it, the damned thing looked almost new. How the hell did he manage that? Dean would never know.

The older boy got up and walked over to Dean, handing him the raincoat. When Dean tried to take it, Michael's grip refused to let go.

"You can probably tell it isn't very easy for Castiel to make friends. It's not a talent he possesses. Hell, I would say it's a talent he manages to repel so many kids his own age," said Michael, glaring down at Dean. "But he likes you and you stick around. Don't misinterpret that as I like you. I think you're a bad influence on him but I'm letting you stick around because I know he needs friends."

"Thanks, you're too kind," muttered Dean.

"If I find out you ever hurt my little brother, I'll have you hanged," growled Michael as he let go of the coat and climbed down the ladder. 

Dean just stood there for a moment before making his way down the ladder as well. The Novak family was definitely something he would have to get used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the inconsistent chapter lengths, I only get a few times to actually write the damn thing so I kind of just write whatever I can get down. That said, I hope you guys like it so far.


	7. Dean's Calling

July 9th, 1946

The rain had continued to pour down with little sign of letting up. It didn't help matters that it was around that time of year again where John would be piss drunk for most hours of the day. It was for that very reason that Bobby didn't take no for an answer and forced Dean to stay at the Roadhouse with Sam. It's not like Dean didn't like the place… he just had another place he'd much rather be.

The Roadhouse was an old bar that was run by the Harvelle's since the beginning of time itself. It's business had been slow the past few months but it still managed to stay afloat. Most of the people who came to the place were regulars at this point and nobody new ever really came in. But even with the regulars, nobody was showing up in this kind of weather. 

Now Dean would just have to spend his days sitting in the same old booth with Jo talking his ear off. She had always been a chatterbox and Dean just learned to tune it out over the years. As it was, he didn't even know what she was going on about now. His head was too busy thinking about what Castiel was up to. If only there were some way to talk to him.

"Dean, are you even listening to me?" asked Jo, her eyes shooting daggers at him. 

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I was," lied Dean.

"Oh yeah? Then what did I just say?" she asked, raising a brow.

"Something about a boy who was jealous you were kissing other boys," said Dean, laying his head against the table.

"Ew no! I knew you weren't listening," Jo shouted and crossed her arms, pouting. "I was talking about how Mom just bought a telephone for the place, she said it'll help with business."

"She put in a what?" asked Dean, his head turned up to look at her. Now she had his interest.

"A telephone, Dean, it works pretty well too," said Jo, pointing to the rotary phone behind the bar.

With that Dean had bolted up from his seat and ran to the phone, picking it up and waiting for the operator. 

"Dean, what are you doing? You don't even know anybody to ca-" said Jo, walking over to him only to be shushed. 

"Yes, operator? Can you get me the Novak residence? Thank you," said Dean. He put his hand over the phone and smirked at Jo. "I know people."

"Bullshit," she said, trying to get the phone from him. Dean put the phone back on his ear and waited for Castiel to answer, pushing Jo away from the receiver. 

"Hello? This is the Novak household, how can I help you?" came the gentle voice over the phone.

"Hey Cas, did you miss me?" said Dean, doing his best to push Jo away as she kept coming at him.

"Dean? I didn't know you had a telephone," said Castiel, surprised.

"I don't, I'm staying at a friend's place," said Dean, holding his hand over the phone again. "Will you cut it out? I'm talking to someone here."

"No fair, let me talk. I wanna talk to whoever it is too," Jo whined.

"Can't, you're too little," spat Dean.

"Am not! You're only a year older than me, you ass," shouted Jo, kicking Dean's shin.

"Being eight years old still makes you a baby," groaned Dean, holding and rubbing his shin.

"It does?" asked Castiel, his voice sounding hurt.

"Oh no, not you Cas. You're perfect as is, you act older than you actually are," said Dean, trying to cheer up the younger boy.

"Forget you, I'm gonna go see what Sammy is doing," muttered Jo, her middle finger pointed at Dean as she left in defeat.

Dean just rolled his eyes and went back to talking to Castiel. His hand still rubbed at his shin. 

"Why did you call me, Dean? Is everything alright?" Castiel asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just bored out of my mind here," laughed Dean.

"I'm sorry, Dean. But I don't really know how to help you with that," said Castiel sadly.

"Just stay on the phone, it'll keep me distracted."

"Okay, what do you want to talk about then?"

"I don't know… anything? What were you doing right now?"

"I was reading a book," said Castiel. Dean could tell by the sound of pages turning that Castiel was still reading as they were talking.

"What book is it?" asked Dean curiously. 

"The Secret of the Old Clock," hummed Castiel, "it's really good so far."

"Oh yeah? What's it about then?" Dean laughed, happy to hear his friend's excited tone.

"Well it's a mystery novel about a girl named Na-" said Castiel but was cut off. The call had ended.

Dean turned around and was faced with an angry Ellen, her fingers on the lever. He could feel a sheepish grin on his face growing to the point that it looked almost cartoonish. 

"I didn't buy this damned phone just for you to go and waste my money calling your little girlfriend," Ellen growled.

"It wasn't my girlfriend, Cas is just a friend," Dean corrected though his voice was shaking. 

"It doesn't matter, now go on upstairs and watch your brother. The truck is about to come any minute and I don't think you want to put any of the delivery away," Ellen said, her face softening up just a smidge.

Dean nodded his head and ran up the stairs to watch after Sam (and Jo). When he got up there, Sammy was drawing on some paper while Jo was playing with her dolls. "I can't believe you went and told me," Dean whined, flopping himself on the couch . "You're such a baby."

"That's what you get for not letting me talk to your girlfriend," Jo shot back.

"Cas is not my girlfriend! He's a boy!" Dean yelled.

"Really? Because I couldn't tell with all of the 'I missed you, Cas' or 'you're perfect, Cas'," teased Jo, smiling devilishly. 

"God, you're so annoying," said Dean, throwing a pillow at her.

"And you're such an ass," shouted Jo, throwing it back at him.

Before you knew it, the two were wrestling each other on the floor. Neither one seemed to have the lead, but both claimed that they were winning. Dean would hold Jo in a headlock only for her to bite his arm and so on and so forth.

Sammy just watched the both of them, disinterested. This is how all of their arguments ended, with Jo and Dean on the floor fighting for their lives. Now whoever won was the only thing that would actually change. This time it was looking like the match was in Jo's favor.

Jo took Dean's arm in both hands and shot her body back, putting him in an armbar. Dean could do little but scream uncle. Happy with her win, Jo let go and laughed. 

"That's not funny," muttered Dean, rubbing his sore arm.

"I think it was," snickered Jo, "you lost to a girl."

"The fact that you're a girl had nothing to do with it… I was distracted," said Dean, his glare would've worked wonders on her had he not just lost.

"Thinking about Cas?" Jo teased, giggling. 

"No…"

"I knew it! Sam, don't you think it's weird how Dean talks about his friend?" Jo asked, turning her attention to the little five year old.

"He likes his friend, it would be weird not to like your own friend," shrugged Sam.

"Yeah, but Dean's takes it to another level. I don't ever see him talk about Benny that way and they've been friends since forever," said Jo.

"I don't know, Cas is a bit weird so it would make sense that their friendship would be weird too," said Sam, thinking about the whole situation.

"Is he? Dean, is Cas weird?" Jo looked at Dean, curious as ever.

"A little, yeah. But I think that's probably because he's from California or something," said Dean, resting on the couch again.

"No way. California?" Jo asked, excited.

"Yeah, I don't know if it's just him but his whole family is weird so I figured it might just be a California thing," said Dean.

"Well now I have to meet him," demanded Jo.

"I don't know about that," sighed Dean, "you might scare him off like all the other boys you like."

"I do not! Benny just got sick from lunch the day I asked him to be my boyfriend," pouted Jo.

"Are you sure about that? Maybe he got sick at the idea of being seen around town with you," snickered Dean. 

"Shut up! You're such a bully, Dean," Jo yelled, slapping his sore arm.

"Alright! Ow, sorry… tell you what, I'll invite him to the carnival next week," said Dean, holding his arm again.

"You will?" Jo smiled, happy at the thought.

"Yeah, I will if it'll get you to stop hitting me," said Dean.

"Deal!" Jo giggled and sat next to Dean, talking his ear off again.

Dean found himself lost in thought again as Jo went on. He had always gone to the carnival whenever it was in town with his friends but he was beginning to wonder how they'd treat Castiel. It was true that Cas was a bit… odd but Dean liked that about him. It was refreshing in a place full of the same old people day in and day out. Maybe they'll like him too for that very reason.

It was a nice thought and it did make Dean excited. He was sure that Benny and Jo would love Cas too, even if it would take some time. Sam had come around to him so why couldn't they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the sudden name change, I just liked this name more. I think it works better.


	8. Day at the Carnival

July 15th, 1946

The rain had cleared up only that very morning and already the whole town was bustling around the carnival. Nobody cared about the insane amount of mud nor did they care about the horribly muggy weather, for everyone this was something that only happened once a year and they were going to take advantage of it. Children ran around carefree while their parents watched, men were trying to win prizes for their girlfriends, and the sound of laughter filled the air. It was unlike anything most in Lawrence had ever seen.

Dean was sitting on one of the old boxes behind a tent with Sam. The two of them were waiting for Benny and Jo, the latter refused to let the both of them start without her.

"Hey Dean, do you think Dad'll get mad about us being here?" asked Sammy, looking up at his older brother as he took another bite of his candied apple.

"Like I give a damn if he gets mad or not, we'll be fine," said Dean, watching the crowd.

"Yeah but what about the money, I'm sure he's going to notice sooner or la-"

"I got it covered, Sammy. You know I would never let Dad lay a hand on you," comforted Dean, pulling Sam into a side hug.

"Yeah but what about you?" Sam asked.

"What about me?' Dean hummed, squinting his eyes and never taking them off of the mass of people.

"Dad will get mad at you and then… and then he's gonna…" Sam couldn't bring himself to finish the thought.

"I'll be fine, you have to trust me," said Dean softly, finally looking at his baby brother. He smiled and ruffled Sam's hair before getting up off of the box. 

"Okay, I'll trust you," muttered Sam, holding his hands out for Dean to help him off of the wooden box. His brother chuckled and grabbed him, placing him on the ground.

Dean held his hand out and Sam took it, the two walking alongside each other through the ever growing crowd. The older boy was walking with a purpose while the little one just strolled along, letting his big brother push past people. 

"Hey Benny!" Dean shouted out, waving his hand high up in the air.

His friends turned around, already smiling and laughing. Jo was wearing her cutest dress and had her blonde hair put into side swept pin curls, her hands wrapped around Benny's arm. And as usual, Benny was wearing his flat cap and some scrappy clothes. 

"Took you two long enough, I thought you'd never get here," joked Dean.

"It's not my fault, Jo over here likes to take her time getting a move on,' laughed Benny, earning himself a slap in the arm from Jo.

"Very funny but Benny was getting distracted by some new girl," growled Jo.

"New girl?" Dean asked, surprised that there was more than just Cas who ended up moving to Lawrence. 

"Yeah, her name was something like Linda or was it Lois? I don't know but Benny just kept on trying to chat her up," sighed Jo.

"Her name was Lisa, Lisa Braeden," said Benny fondly, thinking of her again.

"Oh no, here we go again," muttered Jo, rolling her eyes.

"She was so beautiful, Dean. I'm telling you, I think I'm in love," swooned Benny, leaning on Jo dramatically. 

"Yeah well, don't forget who bought your ticket for the bumper cars," said Jo, pushing off Benny.

"And you will forever be appreciated, darling," said Benny but only earned another eye roll from the girl.

"Maybe you'll have to point her out to me," said Dean, leaning against Benny with his arm on the other boy's shoulder.

"Nope, I already called dibs," said Benny.

"I think you're just scared she might want to kiss me and not you," teased Dean.

"You're wrong, I know she'd like me more," pouted Benny, an edge to his voice. 

"Then why don't we make a deal? First one to steal a kiss wins, winner gets a dollar," said Dean.

Benny thought for a moment, weighing the odds before deciding that they were in his favor. He took Dean's hand and shook on it, "Deal!"

"You're both a bunch of pigs. Right, Sammy?" asked Jo, disgusted.

"Mhmm, the piggiest," agreed Sam.

From there, the whole group went around from ride to show, to vendor. They rode the bumper cars, managed to sneak into the freak show (but left early because it Jo thought the whole thing to be tasteless), and found enough change to buy themselves some popcorn. All in all, while they had only been there for a few hours they felt like they were on the top of the world.

~•~•~

They all turned the corner when Benny gasped and pointed to a girl. Her brown hair was done just like Veronica Lake's and her dress looked to be the most expensive thing any of them had ever seen. When she smiled, it was almost infectious to the point the boys began to smile as well.

"That's her," said Benny.

"You're not wrong, Benny. She really is beautiful," said Dean, his hands going up to fix his hair.

"Oh dear God, here we go again," bemoaned Jo and looked at Sam "Want to go to get some snacks, Sammy?"

Sam took her hand, nodded and said, "I don't think she's all that special."

"And that's what makes you better than those two. You have taste," said Jo, the two of them leaving Dean and Benny to drool over Lisa.

The boys continued to watch her from a distance, both of them trying to build up their courage to speak to her. It seemed like minutes went by before either of them even moved. 

First Benny took a step forward, trying his best to saunter over there as if he were some Casanova. When Dean noticed Benny moving he bolted, pushing past his friend and heading straight for the girl. He was surprised he was managing to not slip in all of the mud and continued to move at lightning fast speed.  
Dean had caught Lisa's attention who was now looking at him with a blush. He smiled and winked at her.

"Oh Dean!" Came a voice which completely ruined Dean's concentration, causing him to slip and land in the mud. 

Dean looked up and he could see Benny walking up to Lisa and taking her by the hand. The two walked away with Benny looking behind his shoulder to stick his tongue out at Dean. All the green eyed boy could do was sigh and turn his attention to the person standing in front of him.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you like that," said Castiel softly, holding his hand out to help Dean up.

"You're timing is impeccable, Cas," Dean groaned, taking his friend's hand and standing up. He wiped his hands on his pants and wiped the mud off of his face, leaving a dirty smear of dirt across his cheeks. "It really is something else, you know that?"

"You think so? I'm just glad I found you, I finally got rid of Gabriel only to find myself lost," said Castiel, licking his thumb and rubbing Dean's cheek clean. "It was a miracle I found someone I knew."

"Well at least one of us got lucky," said Dean, rolling his eyes and using his own thumb to rub mud on Castiel's nose.

Castiel made a weird face and tried his best at cleaning off the mud but still ended up with a little bit of dirt left. When he finished the younger boy could see Dean walking off and ran up to him.

"What's the matter, Dean?" Castiel asked, nudging Dean arm with his own.

"Nothing, I just lost a bet," said Dean, looking down at Cas and smiling a little at the sight of Castiel's still dirty face.

"A bet?"

"Yeah, I made a bet with a friend that if one of us kissed a girl first the other would get a dollar," Dean chuckled, cleaning Castiel's face.

"Oh… was that my fault you lost?" Castiel questioned, looking confused.

"No, I just let him win. Benny needs all the reassurance he can get that he's still popular with the girls," Dean laughed.

"...Are you popular with the girls?" Castiel smiled.

"Definitely, I pretty much have them begging for me to-"

"Then how many have you kissed?" 

"What?" Dean stopped in his tracks and looked at Castiel. He never heard his little book loving friend to ask about anything like that.

"Have you kissed any girls?" Castiel repeated.

Dean stood silently before shaking his head no in defeat. The most he had ever done was hold a girl's hand before and that was when Jo was still trying to walk. Does that even count?

There was that one time when he and a girl in his kindergarten class 'dated' but the most they had ever done was share their snacks. And the next thing you know, she broke up with him the second his snacks were all gone. Maybe Dean wasn't as popular as he thought he was.

"What about you?" Dean asked, looking up at Castiel. All the other boy did was smile and walk away, this pretty much made Dean's mouth drop. 

"Hey! Cas, wait up!" shouted Dean as he twisted his way through the crowd. "Cas, you can't just leave it at that! You gotta tell me the story!"

~•~•~

The two boys had managed to make it back to Jo and Sammy, the both of which were taking bites out of a candied apple. Jo had taken to Castiel almost instantly, bombarding him with question after question. Cas didn't seem to mind, however, and answered all of them with a shy smile. The two talked for a while while Dean tried to sneak a bite of Sam's candied apple, earning himself a kick to the groin.

When the interrogation had ended, Jo looked around and asked where Benny had gone off to.

"He left with Lisa," said Dean, slowly picking himself up from the ground… again.

"He didn't? That boy is dead meat when I see him, he's never gonna hear the end of it," gasped Jo.

"Good, then save it for him," said Dean.

"You're an ass," sneered Jo.

"And a jerk," chimed in Sam.

"Shut up, bitch," Dean laughed, pulling Sam into his arms and giving him a noogie.

"Dean, you don't have to be an assbutt," said Castiel to which everyone just stopped and looked at him.

"What did you say?" Jo asked, biting her lip.

"Assbutt, Gabriel told me that that's the perfect insult for people," said Castiel, blushing.

"Dean, I think I'm in love," said Jo, feigning a swoon and falling against Dean's arm.

"Shut up, you'd fall for a bucket if it were stupid enough," teased Dean, though he himself thought the same thing.

The whole group laughed and hung around together some more. They played more games, stole some food, and managed to find a psychic. Jo forced her way in but Castiel refused to go in until several minutes of Jo begging him to come with her. He said his father said such things were sinful. But Jo didn't care and dragged him into the tent to see if they had a future together.

"This is bull, you can keep him," whined Jo, shoving Castiel into Dean's chest.

"What happened?" asked Sam, holding Jo's hand and trying to comfort her.

"She said I won't find love until I find the one with fire red hair," Jo gagged, "Who in the hell has hair like that in this town?!"

"And what about you, darling? What did she say?" Dean giggled, looking down at Castiel.

"She said I'll know she's the one when our eyes match like the sky and the fields… whatever that means." Castiel said, shrugging and looking at the ground.

"Maybe I should go in and find out what kind of girl I'll fall in love with," Dean said promisingly. 

"Please, she'll probably say that you'll live a life where no one would want you," said Jo, still pouting. 

Dean just rolled his eyes and walked into the tent. The scent of old candles and lavender hit his nose like a train. Shadows seemed to surround the whole place and envelop it all in darkness except for the center of the tent. There sat an elderly black woman who smiled kindly at the boy.

"Come closer, child. I can't read your future if you don't come closer," she said, holding her hand out to him.

Dean walked to her and sat on the ground, his hand out for her to see. "So how exactly does this stuff work, Ms…"

"Madame Missouri," she hummed, looking over Dean's palm.

"Madame Missouri," Dean corrected himself, watching her as she traced her finger along the lines of his hand. "Well what does it say?"

"It says you'll know they're the one when they have the ocean in their eyes," said Madame Missouri.

"What does that mean?" Dean looked confused. What the hell did any of that mean?

"You'll know it when it happens, believe me," she said. 

Dean just nodded, stood, and left the tent. He was confused as the rest of his friends about what that woman meant. She must've been crazy with the fortunes she was giving out. They obviously couldn't have been real.

"Ocean eyes…," said Castiel mulling it over, "The ocean is blue so maybe she meant blue eyes."

"Cas… you're the only one with blue eyes I know," sighed Dean, trying to figure out if he had seen any girls with blue eyes.

"Maybe she meant you two would be a thing," said Jo with crossed arms, "think about it, the sky is blue and the fields are green. Castiel has blue eyes and you have green, it's not that much of a stretch."

"Yeah but he's a guy, Jo," said Dean, weirded out by the thought but not completely opposed to it.

"It is a really weird thought, maybe we'll just fall for girls with those colored eyes then," Castiel laughed nervously.

"Whatever, you two are idiots," Jo said.

~•~•~

The sun was beginning to set when the group found their last thing for the night. The corn maze.

"It's going to be scary in there, isn't it?" Castiel whimpered.

"No, when you've been in one you've been in them all. It's easy," said Dean, unimpressed. 

"Wanna make a deal?" Jo offered, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"What is it this time? I don't have any money," said Dean, worried about what another bet would cost him.

"We'll split up into two teams, the winning team has to do the other's chores at the Roadhouse for a week."

"Deal!"

"Don't we get a say in this?" asked Sam and Castiel in unison.

"Nope!" came the answer.

The four of them had split up into groups of two. Dean and Castiel on one team with Jo and Sam on the other. The second they entered the maze, they split up in an attempt to reach the end first. But the only problem was that it seemed that the farther that Dean and Cas went in, the more and more it looked like they were lost. It didn't help matters that it was now night, with only the moon to act as their source of light.

"Dean, I'm scared," said Castiel, holding onto Dean's hand with both of his.

"It'll be fine, Cas. You just gotta have faith in me, I'll get us out," Dean said, trying to cheer the other boy up.

"But I think we're lo-" 

"Don't say it, if you say it then that's basically admitting defeat and I refuse to lose to Jo," growled Dean.

Castiel just nodded his head and followed along quietly.

After a few more minutes had passed, Castiel stopped causing Dean to halt progress as well.

"What is it now Cas?" Dean asked, looking tired.

"You know earlier if you asked if I had ever kissed any girls?" Castiel mumbled, his fingers wrestling with each other.

"Yeah? What does that have to do with now?" Dean said, perplexed.

"Well the answer is no, I haven't," admitted Castiel.

"You haven't?" Dean smiled, it felt bad to think but he was happy Cas hadn't kissed anybody either.

"No, and I've been thinking … what if Jo is right?" 

"...About?"

"Us. What if Madame Missouri is right about us?" Castiel said, the moon's light showing how red his face was.

"Cas that can't be true, we're both boys and this just ain't… well it's not natural," Dean said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You're right… but you know how you had that bet earlier with your friend about kissing that girl?"

"Yeah?"

"What if instead of her being your first kiss, I was?" Castiel rushed out in a single breath.

"Wha?" Dean felt his heart skip a beat, his own face blushing. His first kiss? He always pictured it being with a hot girl or something but the thought of it being his new best friend. Well that just made it even better.

"I'm sorry, that's just too weird. You're right, Dean, it's not natural and I shouldn't say su-"

Dean cut off Castiel's rambles and slammed their lips together. Cas let out a little yelp followed by a soft moan as he kissed Dean back. The older boy wasn't expecting Castiel's lips to be so soft, they were almost like kissing clouds. The faint taste of strawberries made Dean kiss a little harder before cutting it off and catching his breath.

"Well that was fun," Dean laughed, his breath landing on Castiel's lips. They're eyes locked on each other. It was better than any kiss he would've gotten from Lisa, that was for damn sure.

"It was…" was all Castiel could say.

After the awkward silence, they both agreed that that would be their secret. Dean held Castiel closer to him as they worked their way through the maze, confident in his decision making. It may have taken another twenty minutes but the two of them were out in no time at all. 

Jo and Sam were both waiting, arms crossed and smiles smug. Dean didn't care that he had lost this bet, he ended up with something that was much better than a week's worth of chores done for him. The only problem was that he wanted more of it. And he was sure Cas did too.


	9. Fuck

July 25th, 1946

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" seemed to be the only thing Dean could think of as he ran through the house, his old man not far behind with belt in hand. His dad had already gotten a good hit on him before Dean started to run away.

Dean ran the corner and bolted through the kitchen as his father slipped and crashed into the dining room table. But the boy didn't dare look back, he knew it wouldn't take much longer for his Dad to get up and catch up to him. So he ran to his room as fast as he could.

With a loud slam of his bedroom door, Dean pushed his dresser just enough to keep the door from opening. And just as he thought, the sporadic pounding against his door began only seconds later.

"Listen here, you little fucker! I'm tired of you stealing from me! You're going to learn your lesson one way or another," John shouted, banging his fist against the door before taking another swig of his whiskey.

"I didn't steal shit! You're piss drunk and lost it," Dean shouted, fighting back the tears. He knew he was lying but John usually never noticed. His father would black out and Dean would take that as his chance to take some money for Sammy and him. He guessed his dad wasn't as drunk as he thought he was the last time he did it, how else would he have known?

"Bullshit! When I get my hands on you, you're going to wish you stole from Fort Knox instead," John growled, slamming himself against the door. A sloppy grin grew on his face as he felt the door budge a little. The cracking of wood sending shivers down Dean's spine.

Dean jumped back and went straight for his window, opening it. He took one last look at his door, wiping away a tear from his swollen eye. The bruising began to set in.

When John forced his way into the room, he stumbled after his son who was now halfway through the window. The old drunk grabbed onto Dean's ankle and pulled him into the room.

Desperate, Dean kicked with his free foot and hit his dad square in the jaw. John stumbled back, spitting out blood and lunging after Dean. The boy screamed and threw himself out the window, picking himself up and running along the dirt road leading to his house.

As Dean made his way closer to the paved road going into town, he decided to turn his head around to get one last look at his house. His jaw practically dropped to the ground at the sight of his father running after him, drunkenly tripping over himself.

Looking to his side and seeing the large wheat field, Dean darted into their unwelcoming embrace. He could hear his father's screams and shouts not far behind which only motivated Dean to move faster. Dean ran and ran until his little heart felt like it was about to burst, his lungs beating his chest.

Luckily enough, the tall wheat managed to hide Dean much better than he had expected. He stopped in place and listened to his father's curses get further and further away from him. Dean must've stood there for what seemed like hours and when he was sure that his old man had left, he fell to his knees and cried.

~•~•~

Castiel couldn't help but laugh at his brother's poorly timed joke. It wasn't his fault Gabriel happened to let out some little jab at his uncle for leaving his wife for some twenty year old bartender. The man had it coming for commenting on Michael's inability to find a girlfriend. He was only sixteen after all and when he wasn't spending his time corralling his siblings, he was hard at work studying. Castiel always did find that an admirable trait of his brother, though he would never say it. Michael already had a big enough ego as is.

"Gabe, you don't have to go bringing up someone's past like that. It's unbecoming and face it, Uncle Marv has too long of a list if we're going there," Michael said, holding back a smile. He was clearly proud of his little brother coming to his aid.

"We've all done things we're not proud of, alright?" said Uncle Marv in a defeated tone. His eyes glared from one Novak boy to the other, sending some kind of threat to each of them. But it was obvious none of them really feared the old bastard enough to stop from mocking him.

"Yeah but I don't really think I've ever done anything like getting pissed drunk and wandering all of Ocean Park beach in the nude," teased Lucifer, that devilish gleam in eyes started to light up again. He had his new prey for tonight. 

"Or what about that time you tried to shoot a shotgun and ended up shooting your own foot at Aunt Rachel's wedding?" Raphael said, looking up from his book. It was rare for him to ever take part in this kind of matter but Castiel guessed that tearing into Uncle Marv made for a special occasion.

"O-or what about that time you tried to help repair the roof to show off in front of our neighbor how manly you were only to fall through said roof and break your leg?" Castiel piped up, smiling confidently like he was the smartest boy in the whole room. 

"I don't have to sit here and take any of this," said Uncle Marv, standing up and fixing his coat. His face was now bright red.

"No but I'll bet you'll lay down for it," said Castiel almost on instinct.

Everyone went quiet as they all stared at Castiel, their eyes wide. And not a second later, the room erupted in laughter. Each of the Novak brothers were practically holding their stomachs from how hard they were laughing. In a huff, Uncle Marv stormed away to the kitchen as some of his nieces and nephews ran past him.

"That was a good one," said Gabriel, patting Castiel on the back and wiping away a tear.

"Yes, I suppose being friends with that Winchester kid is doing some good for you," said Lucifer, impressed with Castiel for once in his life.

It was rare for Castiel to say a word whenever his family came to visit let alone get up the nerve to openly mock one of them like that. It felt nice to finally speak his mind for once, he would have to thank Dean for teaching him that.

The house was filled with Novaks. His family decided to have a surprise get together so now the household was filled with aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. It was a good thing their new home was so big or else there wouldn't be enough room to fit all of them. 

Castiel enjoyed having his family over. It brought him some comfort knowing that no matter what he did, there would still be someone who did something far worse than him and they would still love him as their own.

The brothers continued to sit around and laugh while playing around with some of their cousins. It felt like forever since they had seen some of them so they made sure to have as much time with them as possible.

Out of the corner of his eye, Castiel could see his grandfather sitting and staring out at the field. The pale moonlight made him look almost like a ghost.

Excusing himself, Castiel stood up and walked over to his grandfather. 

"Hello Deda," said Castiel, taking the seat opposite the elderly man.

The old man only glanced at Castiel before nodding and returning his gaze to the field.

Castiel bit his lip in thought before remembering an old story his grandmother had once told him. It was the story of how his grandfather fought a bear for the hell of it. The thought of it sounded like something that couldn't possibly happen but given how scary Castiel's grandfather looked, anyone could believe it.

"Deda? Would you like to play chess and tell me a story of the old country?" asked Castiel, smiling.

"And what story would you like to hear, Krolik?" asked his grandfather.

"The one of how you fought a bear with nothing but your hands."

"Ah, now that is a story to tell. Go get your game and I'll tell you all about it," said Castiel's grandfather, smiling at the thought of that memory. His blue eyes had that classic Novak fire behind them that Castiel seemed to inherit, like a raging ocean whose waves break the very rocks they crash into.

Castiel nodded and ran up the stairs to his room, digging under his bed for his chess set. As he pulled the bag of pieces from under his bed he heard the soft tapping of a hand hitting his window. He waited and listened to the five gentle hits that he and Dean had agreed on to make sure it was, infact, Dean and not some demon coming to kill Castiel.

He got up and made his way to the window, opening it. 

"Dean, are you alright?" asked Castiel, seeing Dean's swollen eye.

"Yeah, I'll be alright," said Dean, shrugging.

"Don't lie to me, Dean," said Castiel, holding the green eyed boy still to get a better look at him. He smirked and just hugged Dean, letting his friend sink into his arms.

"I'll be fine, Cas. I just got into another argument with my old man. It's nothing new," mumbled Dean, his face resting in the crook of Castiel's neck.

"You can stay here, I have family staying over but I know my parents won't mind another person here," said Castiel.

"You have people here?" Dean asked, pulling away from Castiel's embrace.

"Yes, I was actually about to listen to a story from my grandfather. You can come listen too, he loves to brag about everything he did when he was younger."

"No, I'll just leave you guys be."

"No, you're going to stay here. I don't want you going back over there."

"I know how to take care of myself, Cas."

"And what about Sam?"

"He's with Bobby, so I will be perfectly okay."

"But Dean, I hate thinking about you goi-"

"I don't care about what you think, Cas! This is my life and I've handled it pretty good so far by myself."

Castiel could only let go of Dean and start to fumble with his hands again. Dean had never spoken like that to him before and to be quite honest, Castiel lacked the confidence to say anything back.

"I… I'm sorry, Castiel. That was too mean, I'm just being a dick," said Dean.

"No, you're right. You shouldn't have to care what I think, I know you can handle yourself," Castiel said bitterly. 

Dean thought for a moment before pulling Castiel into a kiss. Holding him there for a moment before cutting off and looking into Castiel's eyes.

"Listen to me, Cas. I care very much about what you think. You're my best friend and I will always think of you and what you think I should do," said Dean, not taking his eyes off of Castiel's.

Castiel could only bring himself to nod. Neither boy had really talked about the kiss they had only a little over a week ago so the unexpected surprise of another sent Castiel's mind rushing. A mixture of emotions went through his head as he hugged Dean for one last time.

"You're right, I'll see you tomorrow?" was all Castiel could say.

"I'll be here first thing in the morning to hear all about your granddad's story," said Dean, chuckling.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Dean made his way down Castiel's house and waved goodbye as he left. Castiel watched him go before getting his chess board and running down the stairs to his grandfather. He placed the board down and set the pieces.

"Sorry Deda, some of the pieces were missing and I had to find them," said Castiel, smiling past the tears he wanted to shed.

~•~•~

Dean walked into his home to smell the sick scent of piss and spilled booze. Walking into his living room, he saw John passed out on the floor.

Nudging him with his foot, Dean tried to wake up his father to no avail. 

"Come on, Dad. We gotta get you up," said Dean flatly.

John did not move.

"Get up, Dad. You know you can't stay there," repeated Dean, kicking his father a little harder.

John did not move.

"I'm not playing, Dad. Get up!" Dean growled, kicking his father's side as if he were trying to kick a ball.

Again, John did not move.

"Get up, Dad! Get your ass up, you fucking piece of shit!" shouted Dean, kicking John over and over again. Tears started to trail down his face.

Sighing and wiping his face, Dean dragged John to his bed. It took a few minutes but he managed to get his old man on the bed and propped up so he wouldn't choke on his vomit in the middle of the night.

Dean tucked John in and sat on the edge of the bed, using the blanket to wipe away his father's drool.

"I'm sorry for calling you a 'piece of fucking shit' Dad. I didn't mean it," said Dean. "I'm tired and I didn't mean it."

He watched his father sleep for a few more minutes before getting up and going to his room. Locking his door, Dean laid down in his bed and cried.


	10. An End of Summer Idea

August 2nd, 1946

"Nothing's coming to mind, do any of you have ideas?" Dean asked, looking at the rest of the group. His eyes passed over Benny, Jo, Sam, and Cas yet no one seemed to have an answer. 

As sad as it was to admit, their summer vacation was coming to an end and it was looking like they had all run out of ideas on how to spend the last little bit of it as well.

Dean had called all of them to the pond near Castiel's house to talk about it yet no one really had an answer. Benny and Jo just kept on bickering about whose idea was better while Sam just shrugged it off. Castiel was stuck in his book, not really focusing on anything at hand. It was hopeless. School was in less than two weeks and Dean wanted to spend it doing something big, something bold. But it seemed like none of his friends could really agree on what to do.

"I think we should go to the theater and see how long we can go between films before they kick us out," laughed Benny.

"That sounds boring, Benny. We should do something even more daring," Jo sighed.

"Like what?" Benny asked, his eyes widening with anticipation. 

"Like… uh, bothering old man Walker?" Jo said, her voice sounding as if she already knew her idea was bad as soon as it left her lips.

"We do that every other weekend already," Benny whined, laying back on the ground and pulling his hat over his eyes.

"You two are hopeless," Dean grumbled, turning his attention to Sam. "What say you, Sammy? Do you have any ideas on what we should do?"

Sam thought for a moment, biting his thumb as the gears in his head were turning. His eyes narrowed as his focus grew when all of a sudden, they widened. 

"What is it, Sammy?" Dean said, smiling bigger by the second. Sam's thinking face always meant good things for them.

"I got nothing," Sam said, shrugging before going back to his toys.

Dean slammed the palm of his hand against his face and turned to Castiel.

"Alright Cas, please tell me you have an idea on what we can do," Dean begged.

"A what?" Castiel asked, looking up from his book. The most confused look came to his face as he tilted his head to the side, Dean would've thought that it was cute had he not been so frustrated. 

"You have all disappointed me. I'm going to take a swim in the pond to cool off and when I get back, you all have to have an idea on how to end our summer vacation," Dean huffed and turned away from his friends. He walked over to the water, threw off his shirt and jumped in.

"What did I do?" Castiel asked, concerned.

~•~•~

Roughly twenty minutes had passed before Dean returned, using his shirt to dry off his hair.

"Okay, what do you guys have in mind?" Dean asked.

"I was thinking about building a fort or something," Jo proposed. "You and Cas have tons of land for us to find a cool place to build something like that."

"Jo, you're a genius," praised Dean, giving her a thumbs up.

"That's a great idea, Jo. I love it," Castiel cheered.

"Well what can I say? I am the smartest in class," Jo boasted, her confidence through the roof.

"Don't get a big head now," Benny warned, looking up from his napping place in the dirt. "If it gets any bigger you might topple over."

"Shut up, Benny! I do not have a big head. You're just jealous because you weren't smart enough to ever get a gold star in class," Jo snapped. She stuck her tongue out and kicked him in the ribs.

"And? Is it real gold? Nope, so what do I care about any of that stuff for? I already know I'm going to be working in my dad's car shop so what's the point of school anyways," said Benny. 

"That's just ignorance. My mom said that if you want to get anywhere in the world, you have to have an education. Especially if you're a woman," said Jo, rolling her eyes.

"Why? You're just going to end up shacked up with some guy and taking care of the kids," Benny said flatly.

"I don't know if I want to be a mother, I think I might want to try my hand in owning a business," said Jo.

"What kind of business?" asked Dean, plopping himself next to Castiel.

"I don't know, there's the bar. It's been in my family's name for generations, I could try running that and going from there," Jo thought, furrowing her brow as her mind began to wander on how to work through that.

"What about you, Cas? What do you want to do?" Dean asked, nudging Castiel to get his attention.

"Hmm? I want to be a writer some day, I think it sounds nice to make something that people will enjoy," Castiel mumbled. His face was getting red at the idea of people even seeing his work, much less reading it.

"I think that sounds nice," Dean said with a soft smile. "Maybe I can try reading some of your work then?"

"Oh… Sure? I guess I wouldn't mind you seeing whatever I write," Castiel blushed.

"Add me to that list, I'd love to read whatever you write," said Jo. "You always have your nose stuck in a book so I think you could definitely write something good. Don't you think, Benny?"

"Probably, it's possible," said Benny, shrugging as he stared at the clouds overhead.

"Thanks guys, that's really nice of all of you," Castiel said sheepishly, his face as red as a tomato. Having so many people say such things about him was definitely a new experience for Castiel. And he liked it. But there was one thing he had on his mind despite all of the words of encouragement. "Dean? What do you want to be?"

"A fireman," said Dean with a second thought. 

Castiel could tell by the sound of his voice that Dean had his mind made up and didn't really want to talk about it. It didn't help matters that Jo's and Benny's eyes seemed to pop out of their heads upon hearing it before returning back to normal.

"That sounds dangerous, are you going to be okay doing that?" Castiel asked cautiously, tipping his toes in the water to see how far he could take the conversation. 

"I'll be fine," said Dean.

There was that phrase again. Dean would always use it to just end a conversation and leave things at that. It might've taken Castiel a while but he finally learned it meant to just stop talking. He was beginning to hate hearing that. But he knew Dean needed his space so he decided to just drop the whole thing. It wasn't worth the argument. 

"Well if you say you'll be fine, I think you'll do wonderfully at that job," said Castiel, "I know that if you put your mind to it, you'll do the best you can!"

Dean just stared at Castiel, his face getting red and his eyes looking at Castiel's lips. Had Benny, Jo, and Sam not been there, Castiel had an idea of what Dean might've done. Dean started to use it as a way of saying thank you or goodbye or hey or even just to surprise Cas. A kiss from Dean was becoming really common for Castiel but the blue-eyed boy would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it every time Dean pressed their lips together.

But this time Dean just shook his head, smiled, and said "Thanks, Cas."

"I guess that just leaves Sammy!" Jo interrupted, trying her best to cut the tension.

"Hmm?" asked Sam as he looked up from his toys.

"We're all talking about what we want to be when we grow up so what do you want to do?" Jo asked.

"A lawyer."

"A lawyer? I can definitely see you as one," said Jo, messing with Sam's hair.

"Yeah, he has the same heartless eyes as the one who helped my parents divorce," Benny laughed.

"He does not! Sammy has the kindest eyes I've ever seen," Jo protested, stomping her feet.

"Have you ever actually met a lawyer?" Benny questioned, smiling mischievously with an eyebrow raised.

"Well um… no bu-"

"Aha! So you wouldn't even know if he does or doesn't!"

"I still can!"

And so began another round of their bickering, Jo fighting in Sam's honor while Benny did his best to get under her skin. Sam watched on until he got bored and went back to playing.

Castiel just turned his head to watch Dean laugh at his friends before he too got into the argument. The three of them were going at it for as long as they could. Cas found it funny but still kept his eyes on Dean, his mind racing with ideas on why Dean would want to become a firefighter and none of them good. He wanted to know more but knew he shouldn't push his luck. It was rude and Castiel hated to push people too far. But still, maybe it wouldn't hurt to just ask once.


	11. Two Promises

August 3rd, 1946

Castiel was sitting on the slanted roof outside his window when Dean arrived. The moon was already high in the sky by the time he showed up but Cas was fine with it. He somehow knew that Dean would be coming by this night and decided to wait. Besides, the night sky was beautiful. Stars shone brightly across the darkened sky and the moon stood there brightly, it's light bright enough to see for quite some distance. 

"Hey Cas, what are you doing out here?" Dean asked, startled when he saw his blue-eyed angel.

"I'm just enjoying the night sky, it's very beautiful," Castiel hummed.

"Yeah, it is," said Dean as he took a seat next to Cas. The two of them counting the stars.

The two boys sat under the night sky, Castiel's head resting on Dean's shoulder. Nervously testing the waters, Dean reached out and held Castiel's hand. To his surprise, Castiel gave in and held Dean's hand, their fingers intertwined.

It felt like Heaven on earth to Dean. He wanted this to last a lifetime. The idea that he used to live his life without his best friend by his side seemed so unreal to him.

"Hey Cas?" 

"Yes Dean?"

"Let's go to California," said Dean, biting his lip. The more he thought about it, the more it just made sense to him. He could finally leave this godforsaken town and who better to leave it with than his best friend. 

"What about my family? What about Sam?" Castiel asked, looking up at Dean with a surprised look.

"You just tell your family and I'll leave Sam with Bobby and Ellen," said Dean, "it sounds like the perfect end of summer idea to me."

"It's not that simple, Dean. We're both still kids, we don't even know how to get to the next town over much less all the way to California."

"We won't get there with that attitude."

"I… we can go when we finish school. My family says my education is very important and I need to do it." 

"But that's so far away, I don't think I can wait that long," joked Dean.

"Dean, please. I'm serious," begged Castiel.

"You promise as soon as we finish school?" 

"I promise, we'll go and we'll have the time of our lives," promised Cas, nodding his head.

Dean smiled and kissed Castiel, breaking it off and leaning his forehead against the other boy's. 

"Thanks, Cas! You're the best," shouted Dean, laughing excitedly.

"Quiet down, my family is going to hear you," Castiel said, holding his hands on Dean's mouth. 

Dean looked at Cas with an eyebrow raised. He opened his mouth and let his tongue slide over Castiel's hands, the warm wetness causing Cas to flinch and let go.

"Dean, that's so gross," whined Castiel, rubbing his hands dry on Dean's pants.

"You never complain when I kiss you," teased Dean, licking Castiel's cheek and leaving spit.

"That's different, you're not trying to annoy me when you kiss me," Castiel pouted, drying his face.

"You're just being a baby," laughed Dean.

"And you're being a bully."

"Ouch Castiel, that really hurt. I'm really feeling the heat from that insult."

_Heat._ Castiel stopped and thought for a moment, his eyes focused. He had his lips pushed out and his eyebrows clenched. His thinking face.

"What is it, Cas?"

"Why do you want to be a firefighter?" asked Castiel.

"I… don't really want to talk about that," said Dean, his smile gone.

"But Jo and Benny know, their faces said it all. I'd like to know too."

"Cas, it really isn't something I like to talk about. Just drop it, alright?"

"...You're right, I'm sorry for prying," Castiel apologized. He picked his knees up and held them, no longer feeling any of the warmth Dean had only a minute ago.

It hurt Dean to see Castiel like that but he had his reasons and he liked to stick to them. But as the seconds passed, he began to feel the sharp pain in his heart getting worse.

"I'll tell you, okay?" Dean said, moving himself closer to Castiel again.

Castiel looked up and nodded his head.

"During the war, my old man was sent off to Germany and Sammy and I were left with my Mom. Times were already tough but with my Dad gone, my Mom got herself a job at a factory. I usually stayed home and watched Sam but one day she just didn't come back home…

"I waited for what seemed like hours but nothing, so I dressed up Sammy and walked to the factory to see if she was running late. When I got there, the whole building was nothing but a pile of ashes. There were no survivors, Cas."

Castiel could feel his eyes begin to tear up as he held onto Dean. Dean had this far gone look in his own eyes, it was almost as if he cried over this a hundred times over and had no more tears to shed.

"I tried to look for her but the firemen held me back and told me to go home. No matter how hard I fought and cried they wouldn't let me go. It took days for them to find all of the bodies and I was there everyday waiting to see if I could find her.

"It took them three days. She didn't even look like herself.

"My dad came home as soon as he heard the news. He didn't help anything, he was worse off when he came back and with everything that happened here, he broke. Bobby and Ellen heard about what happened and ever since they've been helping out in any way they can. And you know the rest.

"I want to be a firefighter so nobody else can go through that. If I do my best, then that'll never happen again to another kid like me."

"I'm sorry that happened, Dean. If there's anything I can do, I'll do it," said Castiel, holding Dean to his chest and petting his hair

"Why are you sorry? There's nothing you can do about it, there's nothing you could've done," said Dean.

"I don't know but I'll always be here if you need me. I'll always be here for you, Dean," said Castiel.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

~•~•~

Dean was fast asleep in Castiel's bed, Castiel was sure there was no way of waking him. He always slept like a rock while Castiel on the other hand was a light sleeper. Cas didn't mind having Dean in his bed though, it was nice to have someone next to him. It didn't hurt that Dean was always really warm too so he would just hold onto him and quickly fall back asleep if he ever woke up.

Slowly getting up, Castiel made his way to his door. He turned his head to make sure that Dean was still sleeping before closing the door quietly and making his way to the bathroom.

As he was about to close the bathroom door, Castiel was grabbed and dragged up the stairs. A clammy hand covered his mouth and an arm around his chest, trying to pull him long. Castiel would've been more scared had things like this not been a normal occurrence in the Novak household. So he did what any sibling would do and dropped his weight to make it more difficult for whoever was dragging him.

When they finally made it up the stairs, Castiel was brought into a darkened room. Once the door was shut, a small lamp was turned on. He turned around to see whoever it was who dared interrupt his nightly potty break.

"I really needed to use the bathroom, Gabriel," whined Castiel. "What did you need that was so important?"

"I'm going to be asking the questions here, so I need you to answer everything with complete honesty," said Gabriel with crossed arms.

"Fine but make it quick, I have to go badly."

"What do you think of Dean?"

"Dean? He's my best friend. Why do you ask?"

"Your best friend huh? And do you usually make out with your best friend like that?"

Castiel's jaw dropped, his heart racing. How could his brother have known about that? What else did he know? He was sure he was careful with everything he did.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," mumbled Castiel, his face growing red.

"Look out my window, Cas," Gabriel instructed. 

Nodding his head, Castiel slowly made his way to the open window in his brother's room. He looked at his brother one last time before sticking his head out. As he looked around, Castiel recognized the view and nervously looked down. On the floor below, he could see the slanted roof in front of his own window. Fuck.

"Gabriel I-"

"I saw every second of it, Castiel. How long have you two been doing things like that?" asked Gabriel, walking up to his brother.

"...A few weeks now," Castiel muttered, looking at his feet.

"You're lucky it was me who found out about any of this. Had this mean Naomi or Lucifer? Shit, had it been Michael? You'd be dead. No, you'd be worse than dead."

"I'm sorry, Gabriel. Please don't tell anyone," Castiel begged and cried, his eyes filling with tears.

"I won't but you have to be careful, Cas. Michael already has his suspicions so you're going to have to be more careful," warned Gabriel, hugging his little brother.

"I will."

"Good, now come on. Take a seat," said Gabriel, sitting on his bed and patting the spot next to him.

Castiel nodded his head and sat next to his brother, his fingers wrestling about with each other.

"Is there anything you want to talk about? I'm all ears here," Gabriel smiled softly.

"I really do like him, Gabriel. He's nice to me. And it doesn't help that he's the coolest person I've ever met," Castiel said fondly.

"Even cooler than me? That's hard to believe."

"Yes, even cooler than you," giggled Castiel.

"I find that hard to believe but if you say so," laughed Gabriel.

"I know I'm not supposed to feel like this about him but I like Dean a lot. He's always trying to make me laugh and smile. Is it normal if I'm having feelings for a boy like this?"

"Hmm, I don't know? I haven't put much thought into it myself but I do know you're going to have to be very careful. Father will be furious and don't even get me started on the others. Your secret's safe with me, though."

"Thanks Gabriel," said Castiel hugging his older brother.

"So what do you like about him?"

"Where do I start?" Castiel sighed, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. "He has really nice eyes. I think they're my favorite part. I really like his freckles too. I've tried to count them but I always lose count around thirty seven…"

Castiel talked on end for as long as he could. It felt relieving to just tell someone how he felt about Dean, he never had anyone before to talk about it. Gabriel just smiled and listened, occasionally putting in a little joke here and there. Before you knew it, Castiel was rubbing his eyes and yawning. The idea of sleeping slowly creeping up on him. 

"You should get going to bed, Cas," said Gabriel.

"You're right… good night, Gabriel," yawned Castiel, getting up and making his way to the door.

"Oh Cas."

"Yes?"

"Next time tell your little boyfriend to be more quiet. If he keeps on being as loud as he is, sooner or later everyone's going to learn about you two," warned Gabriel.

Castiel nodded and went to bed.


	12. Fixing and Breaking

August 9th, 1946

The loud clanking of tools could've been heard miles away but Dean didn't mind that too much. If anything, he was more concerned by the sound of constant fumbling around with the wooden slats that Castiel seemed to have such a hard time with.

"You know I don't mind carrying any of those slats, Cas. I really don't," said Dean.

"I can handle this, Dean. I'm fully capable of doing this on my own," mumbled Castiel, his arms desperately trying to hold the wood.

Dean stopped in his tracks, put down his father's toolbox, and turned to watch as Castiel dropped all of the wood. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. Cas always was a bit stubborn so Dean knew he would just have to wait it out but they were already walking for about thirty minutes now and Dean was getting tired of taking everything so slow.

"Ow!" Castiel yelped, sucking on his finger as he tried to pick up the wooden slats.

"Let me see," said Dean, walking up to Castiel and inspecting his finger. A rather large splinter had found its way deep into Castiel's ring finger. With a quick pull, Dean took out the splinter and threw it to the ground.

When he looked up he could see a small tear at the edge of Castiel's eye so he decided to do what any _bestfriend_ would do and kissed the wound. 

Castiel blushed and pulled away, causing Dean to laugh. Shaking his head, Dean picked up the wooden slats and handed Castiel the tool box.

"I told you I could do it," protested Castiel.

"The last thing I need is for you to hurt yourself. So let's just hurry up and get over to the shed, everyone is waiting on us," hummed Dean, walking on.

The blue-eyed boy could do little but quietly mumble to himself and follow along. He hated how helpless he looked but he did have to admit, he did need the help. And it didn't help that seeing Dean not even struggle with the task made Castiel's stomach fill with butterflies. 

The two boys continued on walking for another few minutes, eventually ending up at an old shed on Dean's property. 

It took awhile for the children to all find a place that they thought would work out the best for their secret fort. Castiel had suggested that they use the shed next to his own home but sadly found out that it was locked tighter than Fort Knox. Jo suggested using the attic of the Roadhouse but Castiel said his father would never let him anywhere near a bar. Benny couldn't think of anything. In the end, during one of his old man's tantrums, Dean had run out of the house with Sammy and ended up finding an old shed about a mile away from his home.

It was old and looked as if it was held together by a thread. It's windows were cracked, the door broken, and the roof had several holes that needed to be patched. But the children didn't mind any of that, to them the old shed was a home away from home. 

With a little bit of elbow grease, Dean was confident that he could get the place looking as good as new.

"There you two are! I thought I was going to die waiting," whined Jo, throwing herself against the ground. 

"You're so overdramatic, you know that? I was only gone an hour," said Dean, placing down the wooden slats.

"And that's an hour too long. Sammy and Benny are terrible at holding a conversation. Sammy's too little to understand and Benny… while I think Benny's a bit slow," said Jo, covering her mouth so Benny couldn't understand. 

"I can hear, fat-head," growled Benny, glaring daggers at Jo, "just because I don't speak much doesn't mean I'm a bad listener."

"At least some input would be nice, you don't even realize when I'm speaking to you," smirked Jo.

"I don't like to speak much," shrugged Benny.

"I could be pregnant and you wouldn't even notice until the baby popped right on out of me, Benny."

"You? Pregnant? Hell would freeze over before that ever happened," laughed Benny.

The other boys even had to admit that the idea of Jo ever having children was too funny to imagine so they all laughed their asses off. Even Jo found it more hilarious the more she thought about it.

Dean shook his head and picked up a hammer and nails. 

"Are any of you ready to get to work?" he asked.

Everyone cheered, getting up and putting themselves to work. Benny tried his best to fix the roof, using some of the slats to cover the holes and an old ladder to prop himself up. Jo went about cleaning the place, dusting here and there and picking up any trash she found. Castiel was helping Dean by holding the door. He held it upright while Dean screwed back into place. And Sammy… Sam just watched them all.

In no time at all they had the old shed looking as good as new. No, that was a lie. It looked barely any better than before but that didn't matter to the children. They were proud of their work. Well, most of them were.

“This place looks wonderful! I think it came out looking perfect,” hummed Jo.

“I mean it looks alright,” said Benny, trying to fix himself on his wobbly excuse for a ladder.

“You’re always so negative, look how great we did.”

“I can see that, especially with how you swept all the dirt off of the dirt floor,” said Benny sarcastically.

“Shut up! You jerk,” Jo shouted, pushing the ladder in a fit.

Benny screamed as he landed on the hardened floor, his arm bending in an unnatural way. While the bone wasn’t poking through the skin it sure looked like it wanted to. Dean ran straight to his friend’s side, checking out the damage. Jo screamed and apologized over and over again. Castiel could only stand and watch.

No matter what Dean tried to do, Benny kept on groveling on the floor. The sweat poured down his face as he groaned in pain.

“We need to take him to a doctor, Dean,” said Castiel, shaking his head back to reality.

“Yeah, you’re right. Benny. I’m going to have to lift you up, you going to be okay,” asked Dean, feeling Benny’s forehead.

“Touch me and I’ll kill you all,” threatened Benny.

“Glad to see you’re being so cooperative,” muttered Dean.

Castiel and Dean managed to lift up Benny, both on opposite sides of him and started their way to call an ambulance.

“Oh Benny! I’m so so very sorry, you know I wouldn’t have done that if I knew that was going to happen,” Jo kept repeating.

“That’s nice and all Jo but could you do us all a favor and run ahead to call an ambulance. You’ll have to head to Castiel’s place because I don’t have a phone at mine,” said Dean through gritted teeth.

Jo nodded her head and ran off through the field.

“Jesus Benny, how much do you weigh?” Dean grumbled as the three of them trudged through the field, Sam not far behind.

“I like to eat, alright? You don’t see me saying anything when I see you stuffing your face at the Roadhouse,” groaned Benny, his voice sounding tired and faded.

“He does have a point, Dean. You give Gabriel a competition when it comes to eating as much as humanly possible,” sighed Castiel, trying his hardest to keep the same pace as Dean.

“Under normal circumstances, I would be flattered but right now I just feel hurt,” said Dean.

“Besides, Lisa Braeden seemed to like my chubby ass a lot," chuckled Benny.

"I will drop you," said Dean.

"I'm kidding!" Benny laughed harder only to let out a sharp breath from the pain.

It felt like forever but when the boys finally managed to make it to the road, they wanted to drop then and there. They tried to move as fast as they could towards Castiel's house.

As they made their way onto the dirt road leading to Castiel's, they were relieved to see Michael and Lucifer running up to them.

"What did you idiots do?" asked Lucifer.

"He fell off a ladder, Jo didn't explain anything?" said Dean.

"No, she came running into the house frantically going on and on without really saying anything of substance. Naomi is talking to her right now," said Michael, picking up Benny effortlessly from the boys. 

"You need to call an ambulance, Michael. I've never seen a break like that, not even when Gabriel slipped down those ro-" started Castiel.

"I already did, they're on their way. Let's just get him to our home so he won't be dying out in this heat," said Michael calmly.

They all walked as quickly as they could, Benny in Michael's arms. When they got back, Mrs. Novak ordered Benny to be laid on the couch while she looked over him. 

In no time at all, the ambulance was there and carrying Benny away.

"Did you see the way that arm looked? I'm counting at least 4 fractures," whispered Raphael to Michael.

"It did look really gruesome but he'll live," sighed Michael.

"Or will he?" teased Lucifer, earning him a smack on the back of the head from Michael.

"Are you alright Castiel?" asked Naomi, kneeling in front of her little brother.

"I'll be alright," said Castiel.

Naomi smirked and looked at the other children. "And what about the rest of you? Do you need any help getting home?"

"Can I see your phone? We're going to be spending the night at Jo's place," said Dean.

"Of course," Naomi stood up and led Dean to the other room to make a call.

"He's going to be fine, Jo. It was just an accident," said Castiel, hugging Jo.

"I know," was all she could say.

~•~•~

August 11th, 1946

Gabriel led Castiel, Dean, Sam, and Jo through the hospital. All of them seemed a bit tense. 

He felt sorry for all of them but he knew that if they saw their friend again, it would've made them feel a little better. Gabriel walked up to the counter and asked for Benny's room. Five minutes later they were in front of their friend's hospital room.

"Okay, now look. I know you're all extremely nervous about all of this but trust me, he'll be more than fine," said Gabriel. He tried to put on his best smile and opened the door for them.

The children didn't even wait for the door to open all the way when they started to push past the elder Novak brother.

"Sheesh, haven't your parents taught you any manners?" laughed Gabriel.

"Thank you, Gabriel. Are you coming in with us?" asked Castiel.

"Nah, I'm too old to be seen chatting with kids."

"You're ten."

"Too old," hummed Gabriel, closing the door behind him and waiting for them to finish seeing their friend. 

"Took you guys long enough, I thought I was going to be here all alone the whole time," said Benny.

He looked tired but better than before. The only thing really different about him was the large white cast on his arm.

"I knew you were going to be alright, I never had any doubt," said Dean.

"You cried about it when we went to bed that night," said Sam.

"Did not!"

"Yes you did. You kept saying Benny is going to be ugly and deformed for the rest of his life," smirked Sam.

"I mean look at him, don't you consider that a tragedy. All things considered, the broken arm makes him look better."

Benny just laughed at the two brothers before turning to look at Jo, who seemed suspiciously quiet.

"What's that matter? I usually can't get you to shut up, why are you quiet now?" asked Benny.

"I'm sorry, Benny! It's all my fault that you broke your arm," shouted Jo, jumping on and hugging Benny while the tears started to stroll down.

"It's fine, at least I'll look cool when school starts. So in a way, I guess I should be thanking you," said Benny, groaning at weight on him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Good, you owe me one then."

"Do you want me to break your arm back?"

"No! I'll come up with something," said Jo, jumping back.

"So you'll be out of here by the time school starts?" asked Castiel.

"Mhmm! The doc said I'll be out by tomorrow morning," said Benny.

They all laughed and talked about what it was like in the hospital. As it turned out, his arm had five fractures and he had to get put under for the surgery. Benny told them what it was all like having a surgery and bragged about he felt as good as new. 

Before they knew it, visiting hours were over and they all said their goodbyes. They all left the room with Jo being the last to leave.

"I'm serious, Benny. I'll make it up to you," said Jo.

"I know you will," said Benny.

"Good. Because you're going to regret scaring me like that," she joked.

"I'm shaking in my sheets," he laughed, watching the last of his friends leave the room.


	13. Castiel's First Day

August 14th, 1946

"Cas… Cassie…. Castiel! Wake up! You're already late for school," shouted Gabriel, shaking his baby brother awake.

Castiel shot up and immediately started to get dressed. His body was sent into a panicked state, throwing things around to look for the best clothes possible. He ran out of his room to brush his teeth, still trying to put on his shirt.

It wasn't until he ran by the window again back to his room that he saw the moon was still high in the sky.

"Gabriel. What time is it?" asked Castiel, trudging back into his room.

"Last I checked, it was about half past four," said Gabriel, sprawled across Castiel's bed.

"And you decided to wake me up because?" 

"I was bored and lonely," pouted Gabriel.

"Go back to bed."

"Back on the third floor? No way, there could be monsters under my bed or something by now."

"Gabriel, I can assure you that I am far scarier than any monster."

"So cranky. Do you always act this way when you don't get your beauty sleep?"

"Yes. Now, please leave."

"I don't think I will. This bed is really comfortable."

"Suit yourself," sighed Castiel. He walked back to his bed and threw himself on his brother, causing Gabriel to groan in pain.

"Have you always been this heavy?" Gabriel asked, trying to push his little brother.

"Bed's don't talk," mumbled Castiel, flicking his brother's nose.

"Oh so I'm a bed now?"

"You're built like one and you refuse to leave, so yes. Now go to sleep."

Gabriel chuckled and stared at the ceiling as his little brother began to nod off.

"Do you think we'll like school here?" Gabriel asked.

"I don't know, I already have my friends in the same class so I think I will," said Castiel.

"But what about me?"

"What about you?"

"Do you think I'll like it here?"

"As long as you don't make it a point to go and antagonize people I don't see why not," said Castiel, lifting his head to look up his brother.

"Aww that's so sweet. Cassie thinks I can make friends," laughed Gabriel.

"Not if you're as annoying around them as you are with me," said Castiel.

"You love me," snickered Gabriel.

"Gabriel."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

~•~•~

As per usual in the Novak household, it was beyond chaotic. All of the Novak children were running about, trying to tidy themselves up for their first day at their new school. Breakfast had already been eaten with a mountain of dishes set next to the sink for Mrs. Novak to eventually tackle. Not a single soul in the house was calm.

Michael was trying to round everyone up to leave for school. Lucifer was off double checking his secret supply of alcohol to sell at school (how he got it, Castiel had no idea). Naomi was brushing her hair for the umpteenth time. Raphael was looking for his books, which Lucifer had hidden. Gabriel was trying to sneak snacks in his bag and pockets. Castiel was the only child actually ready, just waiting for the rest of his siblings while he played with Anna.

After ten minutes, the Novak children were finally ready to leave for school. They were all lined up from oldest to youngest, waiting for their father to finish his morning prayer with them before they could leave.

"-and I pray that they all behave their best and put you first Lord. Amen," said Mr. Novak. He smiled and kissed all of his children goodbye.

They waved goodbye and marched their way to the paved road to wait for the bus. First off was the bus for the high schoolers with Michael, Lucifer, and Naomi getting on board. Before Michael left them, he put Raphael in charge while the rest of them waited for their own bus.

"This blows, why does the older kids' bus pick them up first," whined Gabriel, already sucking on a lollipop.

"Because they have to be at school earlier and leave it later than us. Consider it a blessing that you don't have to be stuck there as long as them," said Raphael. 

"Okay, well why are you in charge? I can take care of myself," Gabriel went on.

"Because I'm older," said Raphael and left it at that.

"By two years!" shouted Gabriel, holding two fingers in front of his older brother's face.

"You're just looking for something to complain about, huh? Didn't get enough sleep last night, did we?" smirked Raphael.

"I… had a rat sleeping on my chest last night. It was very heavy."

"A rat?! You refused to leave my bed," Castiel shot back.

"Do you hear something, Raph? I think I hear a rat squeaking," said Gabriel, pretending to ignore his baby brother.

"I'll hit you," threatened Castiel.

"Castiel, we've been over this. You hit like a girl," teased Gabriel.

"Nuh-uh, Dean has been teaching me," cried Castiel.

"Prove it."

"Are you serious?" Castiel asked, shocked.

"Yeah! Hit me right in the old tummy and show me how much Dean has 'taught' my baby brother."

Castiel didn't need to be told twice. Like a whip hitting it's mark, Castiel's fist shot across and hit Gabriel's stomach. Gabriel's mouth dropped causing his lollipop to land on the floor as he toppled over and held his stomach in pain.

"I guess he has taught you something. Now what do you say for bullying him, Gabriel," smiled Raphael.

"N-nice shot," groaned Gabriel.

"And?"

"Sorry."

Castiel smiled and helped his brother up from the ground right as their bus pulled up. The three brothers got onto the bus and each chose their seats. Raphael chose to sit in the front of the bus where the least amount of children sat so he could read. Gabriel sat next to a larger boy, trying to talk him up for a trade of their snacks. Castiel wandered the aisle to find an empty seat when an arm grabbed him and pulled him to a seat.

"Guess who?" asked the other boy, his hands covering Castiel's eyes as he held him close.

"Dean, you can let me go," giggled Castiel. He knew almost instantly that it was Dean, the embrace was too familiar not to recognize.

"You got me," laughed Dean, letting go.

Castiel smiled and fixed himself. Dean looked genuinely happy that school was starting which only furthered Castiel's excitement.

"You ready?" asked Dean, looking outside the window.

"Of course. You seem pretty excited as well," said Castiel.

"That's because he finally has someone who might let him cheat off the homework," said Jo, popping up from her seat behind the boys.

"You just have a knack for showing up to insult me, don't you?" Dean bemoaned.

"It's a talent, really," Jo bragged.

"Do you have any that might be useful in the future?"

"Is Dean usually not excited for school?" asked Castiel.

"No way, he would be in a higher grade had he not failed last year. Now we're stuck with him," Jo complained.

"He doesn't need to know that," said Dean, his arms crossed.

"It's alright, Dean. I'll always be willing to help you out with class if you really need the help," said Castiel.

"And that's why I like you more than Jo," laughed Dean, hugging Castiel and sticking his tongue out at Jo.

"I thought you liked him more because of that thing he does with his tongue," Jo whispered in Dean's ear.

"I told you that because I didn't think you would use it against me, you bitch!" Dean groaned, his face red with shame.

It took them another five minutes before the bus drove into the school parking lot. Once they were all out, Dean and Jo led Castiel to his new class. 

The buildings were all old and worn down, with little sign of any renovation done. They were nothing like the more up-to-date and fancy schools Castiel had attended in the past. He could see the paint chipping, the school yard was nothing more than some monkey bars and pavement, and Castiel was sure he had seen some rats fighting for a student's lunch. It would take some getting used to but Cas was sure he would learn to love it like he did any other school.

When the three of them made it to their classroom, it was practically empty. The only people in there were Benny, a group of girls, and a redheaded girl sitting by herself in the corner. 

Benny was busy showing off his cast to the group of girls, telling them a story of how he got it in a fight against four grown men who tried to steal from his father's shop. Jo rolled her eyes and made her way straight to the lying little boy.

"And then what happened Benny?" asked one of the girls, her hands hovering over her mouth as if she was prepared to gasp at any second.

"I stood over the third guy with a metal pipe in hand and right as I was about to swing it… BAM! One of th-"

"Oh really Benny? That's interesting. And did one of these men happen to have beautiful long blonde hair?" Jo interrupted, smirking.

"I…" Benny turned around with his jaw dropping as he saw Jo. 

"That's so funny because I remember the story a little bit differently," Jo sneered.

"What do you mean? Were you there, Jo?" asked one of the girls.

"There? Benny practically saved my life, I would've killed if he wasn't there," Jo lied.

"No…" the girls said in unison.

"Mhmm! The four guys broke into the Roadhouse and tried to steal from the register," Jo went on.

"I thought Benny said it was his Dad's auto shop that was broken into?" 

"Shut up. Benny came in right as they were holding me at knife point and went right to my rescue. He shoved one of them and grabbed my hand, and led me out of the bar. If it wasn't for him, I would be a goner."

"Then how did he break his arm?"

"Oh that? He tripped on a pebble and fell down that hill by old man Walker's place," Jo said with a shrug.

The girls all praised Benny for his bravery and ran off, giggling about the story Jo had just told them.

"Thanks," was all Benny could say.

"You're welcome, Mr. Casanova," Jo hummed, winking at him.

Castiel, Dean, Jo, and Benny all made it a point to sit near the back. While Castiel had a hard time seeing the board, he didn't mind it all too much. He'd much rather sit by his friends than be all alone in the front of the class. 

And with that being said, so far Castiel's first day was going by swimmingly. He was having the time of his life. He found out the school library had many, many books that nobody bothered to check out. He also learned so many new things while giggling with his friends. It was an all too new experience for him that he never knew he needed.

It was now lunch and the four of them all sat by the water fountains, enjoying their lunches. The summer heat was still there but with the shade of the school over them, the kids all felt perfectly fine.

"Castiel, I know you're all for reading but don't you think you should maybe put the book down for once and just eat in peace?" asked Jo, taking a bite from her sandwich. 

"But I am in peace?" Castiel looked confused, his brow furrowing. 

"Just put the book down, Cas. We're all talking to each other and we hate seeing you out of the conversation," Dean said, taking the book from Castiel's hands and placing it on the ground next to him.

"What are you three talking about anyways?" Castiel asked, holding his knees to his chest.

"We were actually talking about what we were going to do for Halloween," said Jo.

"Halloween? But it's August…"

"You can never be too early to get ready for Halloween, Castiel."

"Yeah, I already plan on dressing like Dracula," Benny added.

"I'm going to be a mummy," said Dean.

"I'll be Dorothy," said Jo, smiling uncontrollably. "Do you know what you're going to dress up as, Castiel?"

"We don't celebrate Halloween in my house," Castiel mumbled. 

"You don't?" Jo gasped.

"No, Father says it's a holiday meant to celebrate demons and it's pagan background is an upfront to God," Castiel said sadly.

"Maybe we could try to sneak him out?" Jo proposed, looking at the boys for ideas.

"That could work," Dean nodded.

This quickly brought up a conversation on ways the three of them could sneak Castiel out of his house on Halloween night of all nights.

Castiel only half listened, his gaze on the children playing on the pavement. He again saw the redheaded girl from his class only this time she was walking with several books in hand. Not a moment later, her head was hit by a kickball and she tumbled over. 

Immediately, Castiel jumped up and ran over to her. This ended the conversation Dean, Jo, and Benny were having and looked to see what Castiel was doing. 

"I wouldn't do that, Castiel," Jo shouted.

"What?" Castiel stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his friends. He was shocked at how calm and relaxed they looked.

"That's just Charlie Bradbury," Jo explained, "Nobody ever talks to her because she's well… she's really weird."

"She once ate a worm and she wasn't even dared to," said Benny. "She always does weird things like that."

"And that's reason enough for us to not help her?" Castiel asked.

"Everyone just kind of accepts to stay away from her, she's bad luck," said Jo.

"Is this true, Dean?"

Dean sadly nodded his head.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves," Castiel said, turning his back on his friends and running to help out Charlie.

By the time he got there, two boys were standing over her, laughing.

"Really, Bradbury? You're telling me you didn't see that ball coming? You ruined our game with your fat head, isn't that right Crowley?" said one of the boys.

"Yeah, and we were doing so well too. Must you always get in the way?" said Crowley.

"You know when I think about it, your head could serve as a pretty nice ball for our game. Don't you think, Crowley?" 

"I think that's a lovely idea, Azazel," Crowley agreed, picking his leg up like he's about to kick her.

"Hey! Stop that right now!" Castiel shouted, putting himself between Charlie and the two boys.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry you must be new here, Charlie right here always gets herself into trouble like this so we're just trying to set her straight," said Azazel, eyeing Castiel up and down.

"I don't care, that's no way to treat a person," Castiel growled.

"Look, I'm being way too nice already so just leave or you'll be next," snarled Azazel.

Castiel refused to move.

"You had your chance," Azazel shrugged, before throwing a punch.

Before it hit Castiel right in the face, Dean's hand caught Azazel's wrist and pushed him back. Castiel looked shocked but was happy to see Dean back him up.

"What are you doing, Winchester?" Crowley asked, also shocked and by the look of it, scared out of his mind.

"Making sure you guys don't act like assholes. Just leave them be," said Dean, acting as uninterested as possible.

"Why? Don't tell me you're getting soft? I've heard you've been hanging out with this kid a lot. He seems kind of like a fairy to me," said Azazel, looking over Dean and Castiel suspiciously.

"I don't care what you think he is, just stop being a dick and I won't I have to kick your ass like I did at Benny's birthday," threatened Dean.

That caught Azazel by surprise and he just shook his head, turning away to leave. Castiel wondered how bad their fight must've been for Azazel to have that reaction.

"Whatever Winchester," was all he had to say as he picked up his ball and trudged away, Crowley following not too far behind.

Castiel helped Charlie up, with Dean picking up her books.

"Are you alright?" asked Castiel.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Name's Charlie," she said in a bright voice as if she didn't just get hit in the head. The cheery tone caught Castiel off guard, not to mention her wide smile as she shook Castiel's hand.

"I-I'm Castiel."

"It's nice to meet you," said Charlie, fixing her hair and patting the dirt off of her dress

"Likewise… would you like to sit with us?" Castiel asked, earning him a look from Dean.

"Do you mean it?"

"Of course!" Castiel said with a big smile, nodding his head. 

Dean, Castiel, and Charlie walked over back to Jo and Benny, the two of them with their jaws dropped. 

"Hi Jo! Hi Benny!" Charlie waved enthusiastically, with the other's waving back nervously. 

"Hey Charlie," they both mumbled.

"She's going to be sitting with us, I hope you don't mind," said Castiel.

"Oh no, why would we mind?" Jo said through a thin smile.

"I thought tha-" Benny started only to be cut off with Jo's elbow jamming into his stomach.

Charlie sat right next to Jo, humming to herself. Dean slowly handed her her books and took his spot with Castiel sitting dangerously close to Dean yet again. 

"So what were you guys talking about?" Charlie asked.

"We were just talking about what we're going to wear for Halloween. It's just around the corner, you know," said Jo.

"You are?! I already have my costume set. Not to brag but it's totally badass," said Charlie.

"What is it?" asked Castiel.

"A hobbit."

"A what?"

"A hobbit. Do you not know what that is?"

"Never heard of it," Castiel admitted.

"They're a fictional race of short people with really big feet. They're from this book I've been reading, it's pretty good!" Charlie exclaimed. 

"What book?" 

Charlie handed Castiel the book she had been carrying with her. The title was printed with big bold letters on the cover labeled _The Hobbit_. Castiel skimmed through some of the pages and was instantly enthralled. 

"This sounds so amazing! I've never read this one before," Castiel said, trying to hand the book to Charlie.

"You can keep it if you'd like, think of it as a thank you gift for earlier," said Charlie, pushing away Castiel's hand.

"Really?" 

"Mhmm! I have another copy at home so it's perfectly fine."

This sparked a conversation where Charlie explained the basic plot of the novel and Castiel hung onto every word. His eyes filled with amazement as Charlie gave him hints of what was in store for him. 

Now for the other children, they didn't care all too much for the topic at hand so instead went back to their previous conversation on Halloween costumes.

Before they knew it, the bell was ringing and recess had ended. And much to Castiel's insistence, Charlie sat at their table with them in class.

~•~•~

The Novak boys all walked along the dirt path to their home, telling each other of the day they each had.

"And then right when I thought I was a goner, he came over and shared his snack with me," said Gabriel, telling his brothers of his new friend.

"That's very interesting Gabriel but that still doesn't answer my question," sighed Raphael.

"What question?"

"Did you get into any trouble?"

"That's not important, now going back to my story," Gabriel laughed.

Raphael rolled his eyes and looked to Castiel, "How was your day?"

"It went on pretty well, I made another friend," said Castiel, looking up from his new book.

"You did? That's wonderful Castiel," said Raphael.

"Thank you, she seems really nice. She loves to read like me," he said, closing his book and smiling.

"She?" Gabriel said, his eyes widened, "is she cute?"

"Gabriel. That's not what should matter," corrected Raphael.

"Yeah I know, but is she?"

"I'm not going to answer that," said Castiel.

The boys laughed as they made it to their home, putting their school supplies away and getting straight to the chores.


	14. Storytime with Lucifer

August 19th, 1946

The ticking of the grandfather clock rang through the dining room as Castiel tapped his pencil impatiently on the table. He had been there for hours at this point and he was beginning to get tired. His eyes were drooping, closing slowly as if any minute he would pass out. 

It wasn't that the homework was hard, he just found it terribly boring. The idea of writing an essay on how his summer went sounded like fun but the more he thought about it, the more he was dreading to put it on paper.

It was definitely an eventful summer, he had to admit but when it came to putting it in less than a page of writing he couldn't think of a thing.

He had moved away from the only home he had ever known, made a best friend who he couldn't ever imagine living without, had his first kiss, watched his first horror movie, gone to the carnival, made a fort, the list was endless. Though the more he thought about it, he wouldn't be able to put most of his favorite parts in there. They were too scandalous and even he, an eight year old, knew better than to tell people.

"You're still here? Jesus, Castiel. I thought you would've been done with this hours ago," sighed Lucifer, trudging his way into the dinning room and sitting next to his baby brother.

"Language, Lucifer. Father will beat you over the head if he hears you using the Lord's son's name like that," warned Castiel, raising a finger to his lips.

"Father is in his study getting ready for his sermon this week, he wouldn't even hear if a gun went off in here," said Lucifer.

"It's still his house and you should respect his wishes. Rules are rules for a reason and they should be followed as such."

"Oh really? That's interesting."

"What is?" Castiel asked, looking a bit confused but keeping his eyes on his empty sheet of paper in front of him.

"I'm just surprised you're one for the rules is all."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well seeing as how you and Dean are pretty much inseparable, it wouldn't phase me if you two got up to anything," said Lucifer, his snake-like smile spreading across his face.

"I beg your pardon?" Castiel stammered, dropping his pencil and giving his full attention to the devil child next to him.

"I have a funny little story, would you like to hear it?" Lucifer hummed.

"...yes?"

"Don't be like that, Castiel. I need you to be more sure about your answer before I tell you it."

"Yes, Lucifer. I want to hear your story," Castiel said through gritted teeth.

"It was about eight years ago, the more I think about it. Michael was about your age and he had the most wonderful friend. They were always together, pretty much stuck to each other like glue. What was his name? Abe? Aiden? Who cares, it was a long time ago and I'm getting off track.

"Michael would go on and on for hours about this boy. He was like a puppy who would only ever think about its owner. It was cute, really. I've never really seen him as happy as he was then," said Lucifer.

"Where are you going with this, Lucifer?" Castiel muttered, his eyes glaring holes into his older brother.

"Patience is a virtue, Castiel. I suggest you learn it," said Lucifer. "Anyways, before I was rudely interrupted. I don't really know how or when it happened but the two ended up falling in love. Sick, I know.

"They kept it a little secret, no one knew besides the two of them. They would spend hours running away to their special games together. I only found out when I found the boy treating Michael like he was a girl. It was really disgusting, I had nightmares about it for weeks. I only did the natural thing and told Father to set the two of them straight.

"He beat Michael within an inch of his life, of course. Sadly, the other boy's father did much, much worse. To this day, I've never really seen Michael have many friends like that. Hell, he barely even talks to people. Most of the time he's off doing his studies while all the girls swoon over him. It makes me a little sad knowing that he'll never even give them a second thought. And between you and me, Castiel. I don't think Father beat it all out of him."

"And why are you telling me this?" Castiel asked, his voice quivering. 

"I have my suspicions about you and your own little friend but they're only suspicions so I'll leave them be as it is. I just wanted you to know in case you ever felt the need of bringing up the rules to me again like that, that you would have much more to worry about than anything I am doing," said Lucifer, looking at his fingernails with boredom.

"That's good to know," gulped Castiel.

"Calm down, Castiel. I told you they were only suspicions," laughed Lucifer, standing up from his seat and walking over to Castiel. He ruffled his brother's hair, brought his lips close to Castiel's ear. The little boy could feel the hot breath against his head causing him to shutter. With a wicked grin, Lucifer whispered, "but then again, I had my suspicions about Michael and look how he ended up."

The phone from the kitchen began to ring. Lucifer snickered as he walked away, waving goodbye to his baby brother. 

His threat was clear to Castiel and it was scary enough to bring him to tears. He didn't even need proof, Lucifer's words would've been enough to have Castiel beaten or worse. And he didn't even dare think of what Dean's father would do to him if he found out.

Castiel's mind was racing, his heart about to burst. He was so focused on Lucifer's thinly veiled threat that he jumped when Naomi tapped his shoulder.

"Easy, Castiel. I just came to tell you that your friend is on the phone," said Naomi, petting Castiel's head gently.

"O-oh thank you, Naomi. I'll be right there," said Castiel, faking a smile for her.

"Did Lucifer scare you with another one of his ghost stories?" She asked, hugging her little brother.

"You could say that, yes." He said, hugging her back.

"Don't listen to him, he's an idiot. Lucifer just likes to get into people's heads and mess with them," Naomi said, rubbing Castiel's back.

"I won't," said Castiel but he knew that Lucifer was on his trail. And that scared him.

~•~•~

"Hello? Novak residence," said Castiel when he reached the phone.

"About time you picked up," Jo whined, "Charlie is at the Roadhouse and she's driving me up the wall."

"Why is she there?" Castiel asked, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. 

"She said she needed help with the essay for this week and I was stupid and offered to help her," Jo groaned.

"Okay? I'm failing to see why you called me."

"You were the one who thought it would be a good idea to let her into our group! I figured you might know a way to get her to leave."

"You're ridiculous, Jo."

"But not hopeless. So tell me how I should get her to leave, I want to listen to the radio."

"Has it ever occurred to you to treat her like a person?" 

"No, because truth be told I don't really think she is."

"Jo, you're being rude. You should take the time and get to know her. It would be the polite thing to do," said Castiel, rolling his eyes.

"Seriously, Cas? If I wanted to be lectured to I would've just asked my mother for advice. Is Dean there?" 

"No, he hasn't come by in a few days. I figured it was from all the school work."

"Ha! That's rich, Dean will do his school work the day we land on the moon," Jo laughed.

"It's possible. Dean can be a hard worker when he wants to be," Castiel defended.

"Well I've yet to find the proper motivation for him. Maybe you should do that."

"I'll do that whenever you manage to play nice with Charlie."

"Fiiine! But only because I don't want Dean to be left behind the rest of us," Jo sighed.

"Good, now wish Charlie good luck for me," Castiel said before hanging up the phone.

He knew Jo could be a bit of a jerk but whenever she really tried, she could be the sweetest girl anybody has ever met. He just needed to make a deal with her to get her to act nice.

Castiel left the kitchen and made his way up the stairs, when he walked by Michael's room. He saw the door open with Michael studying away at his textbooks. His older brother was always really smart and a hard worker, something Castiel had always admired. Not to mention he stuck his neck out for Castiel numerous times. He was the best big brother anyone could ask for. But after hearing what Lucifer had said, he saw him in a new light. 

He pitied him but also felt like he understood him a bit more. Castiel couldn't even imagine what it was like for Michael. The thought of having the same happen to him and Dean made Castiel want to die and to see Michael live his life still working to his fullest inspired him.

Mindlessly, he walked up to his big brother and hugged him.

"Castiel? What are you doing?" asked Michael, confused at the sudden affection.

"Nothing, you just seemed like you needed a hug," said Castiel, still holding on.

"I'm fine, Castiel. Thank you though," said Michael, chuckling and hugging Castiel back.

When Castiel let go, Michael messed with his hair and gently pushed his brother away so he could return to his studies. Castiel made his way back down the stairs and returned to his empty sheet of paper with only one thing on his mind. 

What the hell was he going to write about?


End file.
